The Proof Is In The Fangs
by raenbc
Summary: Upon arrival in Whitechapel, the shy new girl soon becomes a fledgling. She's different from most vampires. She doesn't share the same abilities or weaknesses, but the proof is in the fangs. All characters, there will be couples. PLEASE READ & REVIEW!
1. When Benny Meets Ryellie

**My Babysitter's A Vampire is my latest craze! I only discovered it less than a week ago, and I'm hooked. This was bound to happen.**

**This chapter is dedicated Abby, Precious, Amanda and Jenc0449, who helped make it possible. Enjoy! =]**

**I do not own My Babysitter's A Vampire. Or Sharpie. Or The Rainbow Fish.**

It was 9:15 AM when Whitechapel High School's newest student arrived.

She stood in front of the freshman science class, to be introduced by the teacher, trying to hide the fact that she was literally shaking in her boots.

"Class, this is our new student Riley Temberlon." The teacher droned. "I trust all of you will make her feel welcome."

Although she would never say it, the girl didn't think he trusted anything. The way she saw it, people couldn't trust if they didn't care. In her opinion, the teacher must not have cared much, being that he got her name wrong. Then again, most everyone did. She didn't know what came over her to make her correct him, and-for the first time that day-break her silence.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude and correct you," She began, in a voice the teacher found just barely audible. "but my name is _Ryellie_. Like Ryan and Ellie, for my parents' best friends. But you don't need the Etymology lesson."

Her tone went from shy to sheepish, and she trailed off when she heard most of the students laugh at her.

Best friends Ethan and Benny's ears perked up at Ryellie's use of word 'Etymology', and the two of them exchanged impressed smiles.

The teacher gave a quick nod in reply while Ryellie headed off to the side of the classroom, away from everybody. She was right when she guessed that she wouldn't be assigned a lab partner until further notice. She quickly found out, however, that she was wrong in choosing where to sit.

Apparently, she didn't get far enough away from everyone. She didn't pick up the negative vibes as she sat in a beat up plastic chair and ran a hand through her ginger-honey hair that had naturally tight, tiny curls. Her hands looked reddish on the palms, as if she had them in hot water. A contrast to her pale, freckly skin.

When she put her bag made from recycled aluminum pull tabs-some of which she colored in with Sharpie marker to look like the scales of the Rainbow Fish-on her lap and pulled her reading glasses case from it, she found out exactly what she had gotten herself into.

An older boy turned to look at her, and eyed her strangely for a spilt second before he spoke. It wasn't his age that intimidated her-she was used to being one of the youngest in her class-but his cold eyes looked right through her. She tried to ignore him, and just read the board, but then he opened his mouth.

"I realize your _ridiculous_ name should be a red flag for me not to waste my breath talking to you, but don't you think it's a little redundant-not to mention _stupid-_to wear glasses over your contacts?"

This time, Ethan and Benny exchanged glances in reaction to what they heard, looking concerned and confused. They themselves were both used to getting made fun of, given there level of undeniable 'geekiness', but it wasn't every day that a boy picked on a girl. In fact, at their school, it wasn't _any _day that a boy picked on a girl.

This boy in particular was quite satisfied with trying to tear her down, and Ryellie tried to remain unflinching. She thought about explaining that-as difficult as it was for people to believe-her eye color was a natural sort of orange: too dark to be 'yellow', but not dark enough to be brown. She barely talked to people she thought were nice, however, so she decided he definitely wasn't worth her time. He interpreted her silence as a green light for his teasing.

"Are they meant as some distraction for that eyesore of a dress you're wearing?"

Ryellie refused to look down at the dress she'd made herself, which had a sunflower pattern and went down just past her boney knees. She didn't need to reevaluate it. As if she'd asked for a second opinion.

Ethan was ready to say something, even though Ryellie kept her mouth shut. The more he heard, the madder he got, and Benny was right with him on that one. They didn't think they could take listening to another word.

"Is that _really _the best you can do in your attempt to look halfway decent?"

That was the boiling point. Ethan opened his mouth, at the same time Benny stood up. Which made what came out of Ethan's mouth completely different than what he'd planned to say. He didn't understand why he spoke in a sharp whisper. Their teacher had been too focused on writing on the board to hear any of the teasing. Except, he was done by the time Benny got up from his chair, and turned to see him walking over to the boy who was now laughing harshly at Ryellie.

"_Benny, what are you doing_?"

Both Ethan and the teacher got their answer when they saw Benny reach where the bully was sitting. Without even giving it thought, Benny landed a solid punch right to his face, nearly breaking his nose in the process.

The class gasped in unison, and cheers mixed in with chatter, drowning out the bully's cries of pain. In that moment, Ryellie's silence was that of the stunned variety. The teacher, having no idea what had really happened, didn't hesitate in writing Benny up. "I hope you realize you just earned yourself five days suspension."

Benny brushed that off and replied with: "It was more than worth it…"

* * *

><p>"…So Benny walks up to the guy, and just <em>decks <em>him."

"I know, I heard! It's all over school." Sarah told Ethan, sounding just as shocked. She couldn't help but smile about it. At least he'd tried to stand up for the girl, the way that boy had been running his mouth was uncalled for. She understood why Benny reacted the way he had perfectly.

"How's the girl?" Sarah asked, worried and feeling sorry.

"I don't know." Ethan told her honestly. "She didn't say much. I don't think she ever _does_. She was probably happy Benny shut him up, though. I know I was."

"So she's shy?" Sarah asked. "She sounds really sweet."

"Yeah, I guess." Ethan leaned up against his locker. He seemed exhausted.

"Are you okay?" Sarah said with a sigh. She could tell something was bothering him. His mind was still on that morning.

Ethan spoke his thoughts to his concerned crush. "Do you think I should write this off as regular Whitechapel weirdness, or is something else going on here?"

Sarah wondered the same thing, but she didn't want him to worry. "I think that kid needed a serious attitude adjustment, and Benny certainly adjusted something." They shared a laugh.

"I just can't believe Benny gets punished for it." Ethan said, unable to get out of his downer mood.

Sarah once again tried to cheer him up. "C'mon, I'll drive you home. It is Friday, anyway."

"You don't have to baby-sit for a few more hours." He reminded her, as they walked out of school together.

"I know." She replied. "That doesn't matter. You do realize you're one of my best friends, right?"

"Yeah." He answered. "Of course." Ethan couldn't help how wide his smile was.

* * *

><p>"Ry, you won't believe this!" Ryellie's twin cousins said as they burst into her room unannounced. She was sitting on the window sill rewriting her homework, since she spotted three mistakes in her first paper and had nothing else to do.<p>

The elder twin, Reegan, ran toward the window and threw it open, nearly knocking her startled cousin over in the process.

"Look into the window of that house!" The younger twin, Rainelly, who most of the time simply went by Rae to avoid confusion, ordered, from where she stood.

Ryellie's orange eyes widened. "No!" She said. It was easy for her to talk to her cousins. She had lived with them all her life. "I'm not gonna spy on people. It's unethical." She mumbled.

"Just do it!" Reegan insisted, while Rae giggled excitedly.

"Are you sure you guys are in college?" Ryellie wondered aloud, raising her eyebrows. It was difficult for her not to question, with the way they acted.

"It's that _guy_." The twins said in unison, unable to help themselves. They were having too much fun torturing their little cousin.

"You know, the one you told us about?" Rae explained, with her blue eyes bulging.

"Yeah." Reegan agreed. "For you to talk about a guy-in so much detail-he's gotta be important."

Ryellie didn't see eye to eye with them. "But all I know about him is what he looks like. Wouldn't you stare at someone who punched someone else right in front of you?"

"Stop making excuses and go over there and talk to him". Reegan ordered, flipping her bleached blonde hair. She was labeled the bossier twin.

"To break the ice, we baked him all kinds of stuff for you to give to him. How hard can it be to talk to a guy who's too busy stuffing his face to listen anyway?" Rae asked, as she handed the box to Ryellie.

She sighed, and headed for the front door of her house. "Bring an umbrella!" The twins shouted to her from the second floor. Reegan's tone was, of course, a little more forceful.

"Why would I need an umbrella?" Ryellie answered as she unlocked the door. She felt awkward, since she had to raise her voice. "It's not even raining, and it's not like I'm gonna stay and chat." That never happened. Ryellie was known for being a girl of few words.

She practically ran around the block, figuring that the sooner she could be back to her own house the better. Her knock was louder than to be expected, given her voice.

Benny answered the door. His shock was evident. She was the last person he expected to see. "Hey." He greeted, knowing her answer wouldn't be nearly as enthusiastic. Ryellie gave a small wave in reply, forcing him to swallow a laugh.

Then, in what seemed like a single breath, she told him why she was there. "My crazy cousins noticed you lived here and they baked practically everything they could imagine so that when I came here to thank you, I wouldn't be empty handed."

"Sweet." He replied, taking the box from her and remembering to be gentle, despite his hunger. A soft, short and melodious sound escaped from Ryellie's lips when she heard him say that. It took Benny a few seconds to realize that that was a laugh.

"You're welcome." He added as more of an afterthought, distracted by the fact that it seemed like she was afraid to laugh. "And thanks."

"Thank my cousins." She told him. "Then run. They can talk for hours, nonstop."

"They should meet Rory." Benny thought out loud, although he knew that wouldn't make sense to her unless she'd met him herself. By the way her face contorted just a bit, he could tell she hadn't. He considered her lucky, and mentally laughed at that.

Benny realized that throughout the conversation, neither one of them had really mentioned themselves. He knew he had to be the one to initiate the introduction. "I'm Benny." If his hands weren't full of the food he was sorting through, he might have shaken hers. Then he thought, if she wasn't much of a talker, why would she want to touch him? _It probably wasn't even her choice to come over_. He thought.

"Ryellie." She replied, although she knew he knew that. There was something about her tone that made her sound disgusted.

_Bad memories. _Benny decided. He had to do something about that. "That's an awesome name. I don't care what anybody says."

"Neither do I." Ryellie replied, smiling just slightly through her sentence. Although, she felt she could've cried in science class. Up until the point where Benny proved himself her hero. Then she could've tackled him into a hug. If they'd known each other better. And if she did things like that.

"Wanna come inside and watch TV? If nothing's on we can watch _Jacuzzi Time Machine. _Or whatever, you know, you're the guest." Benny saw that she had no intention of sticking around, but it didn't seem to him like he was the reason for that. She thought she was being bothersome, he could tell.

Nothing about her bothered him. Nothing about her even made him nervous, or had him feeling like his usual girl-crazy self. He blamed that on her shyness, there had to be some explanation. It was sort of twisted irony for him to add: "I'm not gonna bite ya." To the end of his sentence. Certain Whitechapel residents couldn't make that promise.

Ryellie's face practically exploded into a smile-revealing her clear braces-but her smile disappeared when the rain snuck up on her, pouring down. Instinct told Benny to drop the box of baked goods and pull Ryellie inside.

It may have just been because of her petite form, or Benny might not have realized his own strength, but he picked her up in the rush to get her out of the rain. Oddly, she didn't mind. She hated the rain. And the cold. Anything was better than being stuck in it.

Ryellie realized she was beyond drenched when he put her down. She envied Benny and the doorway that kept him dry. "Change of plans." He said. "You're gonna go get acquainted with my hair dryer. Put it on high."

"Gee, thanks." She replied, clamping her hand over her mouth when she realized sarcasm had just escaped from it. Benny almost laughed, finally seeing that she had a sense of humor.

He also saw that they had a situation. "I guess I should find you something to wear. You can't go out again in _that_. You'd melt." Ryellie's laughter echoed from the bathroom.

"If you have a sewing machine and a table cloth, I'm sure I could improvise." She informed him, only half-joking.

Benny began snacking on his thank you gift while Ryellie rushed through drying her hair. She came out of the bathroom dragging her feet, as if she knew what was coming. "Whoa." Benny said when he caught sight of her.

"I know," She answered, irritated. "I look like a deranged lion." That was the first time _she _made _him _laugh, and he was close to falling over when he did. Ryellie wasn't used to that, and Benny could guess why. She probably didn't talk enough to make jokes.

"Should I get you some of my old clothes or is that _beyond _awkward?" Benny asked, handing her a cookie when she walked over, just automatically. She accepted it as if that was natural too. Somehow he knew what she liked.

She smiled warmly at her realization, then answered his question. " As long as I'm warm and dry, I won't complain."

With that, he was off to find her something to wear. Ryellie couldn't help but go to read the first book she saw, which happened to be Benny's spell book. She tried to skim through it and speed-read, but the fact that it wasn't in English didn't make that very easy. She put it back where she found it, disappointed but also excited. Now she had a challenge: figure out how to read that book. It was just too appealing to her to be overlooked.

Benny came back with all he could carry in clothes. He was dealing with a girl, so he felt that was necessary.

"Stripes." Was her only comment, and he wasn't sure if she meant that positively or negatively.

"It's kinda all I've got." He explained.

"That's so _dorky_." That was a shock. So was the word that followed: "Awesome."

If Ryellie was trying to mess with his mind, he considered her mission accomplished.

As she went into the bathroom to change, Benny told her: "I'm gonna order some pizza, is that alright with you?"

He watched her head poke out of the doorway. "I don't think it'd be alright with the pizza guy." She answered, regarding the storm.

"Well, what do you suggest?" He asked, almost mockingly, knowing he'd have to wait awhile before he got an answer.

Ryellie walked out of the bathroom in about three layers of Benny's old clothes. The sight was strange to say the least, but so was the plan to begin with. They both just decided not to think about it, all it did was bring headaches.

"Why don't we make our own pizza? Or something. My cousins and I cook all the time." Benny didn't hesitate to answer.

"If you cook as well as they bake, that's the best idea I've ever heard." Ryellie laughed, and Benny led the way to the kitchen…

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! Lol, baked goods. I sound like a commercial, I didn't know how else to phrase it. All ideas are greatly appreciated! I'll update ASAP! (I can't wait!) =]**


	2. Awkward

**Chapter 2, YAY! Enjoy, and a giant thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited and all that good stuff.**

**I do not own My Babysitter's A Vampire. Or Star Wars.**

"I'd expect Benny to be here. Well, at least, I did before it started raining." Sarah said as she tried to keep herself awake. The pouring rain was lulling her to sleep, but she fought it by keeping herself busy. She refused to sit down.

Ethan watched her walk around in circles, and laughed to himself. "He's probably grounded." He reasoned, yawning. Which made Sarah realize it wasn't her own sleepiness she was feeling, it was Ethan's.

"Why are you so tired?" Ethan debated how to answer the question, quickly dismissing the thought in his head: _I can't sleep because I'm too busy thinking about you_. That wasn't the reason, although it did happen. He didn't lie to himself about that.

He had to dig deep to find a reply. When he said it out loud, it barely made sense to him.

"Something's gonna happen. Soon. I just wish I would have a vision so I could know what to expect." He was worn out by a single thought, but his mind was too clouded to sort out exactly what it was.

Sarah offered the only piece of advice she could think of at the moment. "In this town, we have to take each day as it comes."

Ethan nodded in agreement, just the slightest bit stuck on the word 'we', wondering which way she meant it. He didn't dare ask.

Instead, he thought of a completely different question. One that never usually crossed his mind. "How's Erica been lately?"

Sarah wasn't expecting that, and hardly knew if he was being serious.

He wouldn't have had to ask if Erica had been around lately to answer his question herself. She was absent in mind, it really had nothing to do with her actual presence. She was there, but it seemed like she was in a different world.

If anyone knew the reason why, it was Sarah. Ethan couldn't help but be concerned, even though Erica didn't consider him her friend. He'd only asked because he was worried. He hadn't run out of things to say.

Sarah could only groan in reply, she didn't know how to go about answering. She thought for awhile, then simply said: "Different."

Her tone made his next question inevitable. "A bad different?" Ethan said this as if he couldn't imagine Erica getting any worse.

Sarah chuckled, and finally quit being restless, sitting down next to him on the couch. "I wish I knew how to answer that." She sighed. "She won't even tell me what's going on. We're supposed to be best friends."

Sarah wanted to get upset.

She sat there in silence thinking it over. Between the bully that got Benny suspended and Erica going through another personality change, she had her reasons.

She didn't allow herself to get upset though, because Ethan had enough to worry about between his best friend being suspended and the vision that wouldn't come to him.

Sarah decided it was only fair to help Ethan out with that problem, even knowing that bending the rules could backfire.

She didn't know for sure if visions were truly uncontrollable, unable to be summoned, and completely coincidental no matter what, but she figured she had to try to find out.

Which is how her hand wound up in his.

Ethan froze for a second, in reaction to the touch. His mind went absolutely blank.

Sarah hadn't told him her plan, so he didn't know what to think.

That is, until she asked a one-word question: "Nothing?"

That's all he saw, and-in his opinion- that's all this moment meant to her. Nothing. He felt empty. That wasn't the Sarah he knew. She didn't tease to torture.

The Sarah he knew was still shocking him to the core, while he tried-and failed-to stay angry at her.

While Sarah waited for his response, she didn't let go of his hand. She couldn't explain why. Ethan didn't seem to mind, regardless of the reason.

* * *

><p>"I didn't even know this stuff was in my fridge." Benny said, regarding the meal Ryellie had put in front of him. The meal they had made together.<p>

Everything was set out on the table, because Ryellie had never had dinner sitting in front of the TV. Probably because her family didn't own a TV. Whatever the reason, she couldn't break that habit.

She also couldn't break the habit of cooking with a theme. They'd whipped up practically everything they could imagine eating at a country fair, but that had been her idea. They made about eight servings of every dish for the two of them to share. Ryellie knew her eyes were bigger than her stomach, and she didn't know what Benny's excuse was, but there was no doubt that there would be leftovers.

"Well, now you do." Ryellie told him, once he looked everything over.

Half of the meal was actually dessert, which Benny couldn't complain about.

"I hope you don't mind that we cooked practically everything you had." She went on apologetically. "I'm used to cooking for eleven."

Benny nearly swallowed his fork when she told him that. "You live with _ten _other people?"

"Hmm, so you are good at math." Ryellie teased, thinking she had gotten way too comfortable with doing that. She mentally scolded herself, while he laughed.

"Do you guys have a clown car?" He asked jokingly.

She was too busy getting a chill to laugh. "Clowns freak me out. Their smiles are painted on. How is that not scary?" Benny was amused by the tangent she went off on, and followed her lead.

The conversation took a turn toward the topic of Star Wars, and soon Ryellie's expression was blank.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about." It wasn't a question, she'd made that pretty obvious.

"You lost me." Ryellie admitted. "Practically the only thing I know about Star Wars is that Yoda talks funny, and the Wiki page is called Wookiepedia."

She listened to Benny choke on his drink-a concoction dubbed Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream Soda-for about two seconds.

"Put your hands up!" She told him worriedly, which only made him laugh more. He listening, and instantly stopped sounding like he was coughing up a lung.

"So, what do _you_ wanna talk about?" Benny asked her, thinking he was being unfair getting into topics she knew nothing about. In response, Ryellie just blinked.

"That was a stupid question, wasn't it?"

Ryellie wasn't used to talking to people. Especially the ones she barely knew.

"Sorry I'm incredibly boring." She mumbled, speaking her thoughts. The ones she figured were running circles in his head.

"When did I ever say that?" Benny asked in mock outrage. "For someone who doesn't talk much, you really know how to put words in people's mouths."

Benny _was _bored, but Ryellie wasn't the reason.

Once the two of them were finished with dinner, they needed to find something to do. He didn't really mind that hanging out with her meant minimal conversation, but that was going to take a lot of getting used to.

That thought caused a metaphorical light bulb to go on above Benny's head. What they needed was something that spoke for itself.

After he and Ryellie went about clearing the table rather quickly, Benny put on some music.

Ryellie's foot fought the temptation to tap.

The song was one of her favorites, but she wouldn't dare make that obvious. Benny on the other hand had no problem expressing himself. It was as if he forgot she was even there. Until her laughter reminded him.

Ryellie didn't seem to be laughing at him, that would just be ironic after what happened to her that morning. Although, Benny couldn't say he blamed her with the way he danced.

Ryellie seemed to read his mind. "You're pretty bold." She told him, biting her lip as she tried to imagine her dancing. Something she didn't even do around her own family.

"You dance like no one's watching. Most people, myself included, are _way_ too gutless."

Benny stopped for a second and gave her a look she couldn't decipher, being that they had only just met.

"How's us hanging out supposed to work if you don't loosen up a bit?" He asked, hoping Ryellie wouldn't be offended.

She looked more sad than angry. For a second, it seemed like she thought he'd turned on her, and all of a sudden she was _his _punching bag too. Then, she spoke.

"You're right, Benny. Why shouldn't I have fun?"

Ryellie figured there must be a reason she'd gotten stuck in the rain. That had never happened before. To her, it was symbolic.

There was a first time for everything, but she wasn't ready for a drastic change. She agreed to join in on the fun on one condition. "Just one dance."

He shrugged. "You gotta start somewhere." Ryellie moved off the wall and closer to Benny, but her timing was terrible.

Right when she reached him, the song changed. To one with a much slower tempo.

"You tricked me." Ryellie whined.

"No," Benny argued. "shuffle tricked us both."

"Well, this is awkward." She said. Her body language reflected that feeling. She had one hand on the opposite arm, at her elbow. She didn't stay like that for very long, surprising herself when she reached out her hands.

_There's a first time for everything_. Ryellie reminded herself, hoping this wouldn't be the first time she faced rejection. Benny didn't hesitate to take her hands, despite his surprise. He liked that she kept him guessing.

The most awkward part of everything was how they danced together: out of sync, and almost lazy. They weren't worried about how it looked though, it was actually fun.

That surprised Ryellie the most. Whenever she imagined a slow dance, it always had to be important and romantic. Not to mention slightly scary and irritating.

Being able to just relax put Ryellie's mind at ease, and caused her to get lost in thought halfway through the song. For one second too long.

"Ow! Do you have spikes on those boots?"

Ryellie's face scrunched up as much as Benny's did, she felt his pain. "Sorry!" She stepped back fast and let go abruptly.

Benny looked at her like she was crazy. "It's just a toe, I've got nine more of 'em."

"At least ice it." She said, feeling guilty.

"You really think that's necessary?" He asked, doubting that it was. That question was the beginning of another awkward moment, but neither of them were aware of that until Ryellie replied.

"Only one way to find out."

Before Benny had time to ask what she meant, Ryellie was kneeling on the floor and untying his sneaker.

She couldn't help that it was her automatic reaction to play doctor. Since she was the one who hurt him-no matter how much-she considered it her job to assess the damage, and make the pain go away.

While Benny eyed her with amusement, Ryellie accidentally tickled him all the way through taking his sock off. Then, she nearly screamed. "Oh my God, it's practically purple!"

He laughed it off. "You're stronger than you look."

"I'm _mean_ is what I am." Ryellie replied, beating herself up over it. "Your poor toe."

Benny could only raise his eyebrows at her worry, as she went to fetch him ice. "Go sit on the couch and put your feet up." She instructed sweetly.

Benny blinked. "You stepped on my toe, you didn't make me sprain my ankle." He said, even though he complied.

Benny realized that the only mistake in that was his couch was way too comfortable, when he woke up hours later.

At first, he could've sworn he dreamt the whole encounter.

He'd been thinking about Ryellie the whole day, since he worried about her. Part of him thought she made herself an easy target, being that she didn't fight back. Part of him thought that she was just too nice and too shy to say something. It was possible that worry wasn't the only factor that fueled his thoughts of her, but he couldn't be sure.

Any part of the possible dream could be classified as a little out of the ordinary, and Benny was used to that. That was his whole life Although, his type of out of the ordinary involved the supernatural, not carnival food and oodles of awkward situations. At least not the type of awkward situations Ryellie put him in.

"Sleep well?"

Benny jumped, startled so much that he practically fell off the couch. Then he turned toward the doorway to see Ryellie standing there, holding something in her hand. She had changed back into her now-dry dress, and his old clothes were in a neatly folded pile on a chair.

She couldn't help but giggle in reaction. He couldn't help how wide his eyes went when he saw that not only had the rain stopped, but it was also dark outside.

"Aw, man, I fell asleep on you?" Benny asked.

"Not on me, next to me. Well, not _right_ next to me... you know what I mean." Ryellie bit her tongue to stop the babbling.

He looked at her, almost accusingly. "What?" She asked, worried she'd done another thing wrong. She'd been on edge since the toe incident.

"You didn't draw on my face, did you?" Benny asked.

Ryellie shook her head, laughing. "No, I was too busy drawing on this piece of paper." She walked over to show him what she was holding.

When Benny saw, he almost thought his evil clone had made a comeback. Had it not been for the smile and the way his depiction was dressed.

He was amazed. "_How _did you draw this in crayon?"

She looked at him as if she didn't understand the question. "Drawing it in pencil would've been boring to me. And since moving here, I don't do boring." She answered. She sounded proud of learning how to live a little, and thankful that he taught her. Benny smiled, and Ryellie gasped, catching sight of the clock.

"What's wrong?" He asked. She looked like she was about to hyperventilate.

"One thing I _don't _do is get grounded, and I will if I don't get home. Now."

"Alright." Benny replied. "Well, thanks for dinner, and the cookies and stuff, and the drawing." He told her as he lead her to his back door. (He had to hop there, since he put his sneaker back on as he went.)

Ryellie figured it would be best to explain that. He probably wasn't used to people drawing pictures of him. "You're welcome. I just wanted you to have something from _me_." She couldn't take credit for her cousins' baking skills.

"I'll be sure to frame it." Benny told her, not being at all sarcastic. They shared a smile as their goodbye, and then Ryellie was on her way.

* * *

><p>Once Ryellie was gone, Benny discovered he'd had a web chat invitation waiting for him for quite awhile. There was only on person it could be.<p>

"What's up Ethan?"

"Where've you _been_?" He practically barked in reply.

Somewhat stunned, Benny laughed awkwardly. "I'm good, thanks for asking."

Ethan shot him a glare, that softened into a look of panic.

"I am in _crisis_!" Ethan told Benny in a harsh whisper.

"Why is that?" Benny asked, trying to sound like he didn't care, since it was probably nothing major.

"Sarah." Came the reply.

"Why did I even have to ask?" Benny thought aloud, almost scolding himself.

"It doesn't even make sense, I should be happy right now." Ethan said. He certainly didn't look happy. He looked like he'd been tearing his hair out.

"Well, what happened?" Benny asked, wondering how much he could've possibly missed in one afternoon. "Did she kiss you?"

"I wish." Ethan mumbled. He watched Benny's eyebrows lower.

"Yeah, we know."

Ethan blinked. "Wait, what do you mean 'we'?"

"Me and the rest of the world's population." Benny responded flatly.

"Well, maybe things will be better by Monday." Ethan said, trying to be positive about the situation. He failed to realize that he had forgotten to tell Benny what the situation even was.

His mind was racing just as fast as his heart.

* * *

><p>Ryellie had two shadows when she returned home. Their names: Reegan and Rae.<p>

"You're such a liar." Reegan said accusingly, the second she walked in through the back door.

Ryellie didn't question why as she made her way up to her room, with her cousins at her heels. "Yeah? Well, I'm a tired liar. Can I go to sleep now?"

"No." Reegan answered bluntly.

Rae nodded in agreement. "If you can stay and chat with a total stranger-"

"Like you said you _wouldn't_… liar." Reegan interrupted.

While Ryellie rolled her eyes, Rae finished her sentence. "Why can't you chat with us?"

"Tell us what happened." Reegan ordered excitedly.

"Not… much." Ryellie said, looking uncomfortable. For some reason, she didn't want to talk about it.

"We talked a little, had dinner-"

"Whoa!" both twins exclaimed. "You _made_ him dinner?" Rae gushed.

"No, we both made dinner." Ryellie clarified. They squealed in response, and she covered her ears.

"Then what?" Rae urged, ignoring a second eye roll. Ryellie kept her hands where they were when she answered, knowing what to expect.

"We... danced." The twins were practically celebrating, but Ryellie was afraid they would shatter the windows the way they screamed.

"This is major!" Rae said, jumping up and down. "You won't even dance with us."

"It was _one_ dance." Ryellie stressed, but they were too happy to care, still screaming over it.

Ryellie was all talked out, and irritated.

Her cousins acted like some miracle had taken place. She couldn't help but be mad. They were in for a _real _shock.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Reegan and Rae jumped at their cousin's outburst. It stunned them so much they couldn't even try to argue, and rushed out the door she slammed after them.

With her back leaning up against it, Ryellie slid down her door and sat on the floor, staring up at the ceiling for awhile.

She just wanted to be alone with her countless thoughts and memories. Even though they were giving her more of a headache than her cousins had.

* * *

><p>Monday did not come quickly enough for Sarah.<p>

She ran up to Erica when she spotted her at her locker. "Did you turn off your phone? I called you _ten times_!"

"Oh, hey Sarah." She replied, absent-mindedly. She seemed to not be focusing on anything lately.

"Hello? _Planet Erica_, could you give your best friend just a little attention?"

"What's up?" Her tone was a little harsh, but Sarah was used to that.

Sarah's answer came out in a rushed whisper, and was answered by a laugh.

"You held _Ethan's _hand for five seconds, and now you're having a panic attack?" Erica asked in a disgusted tone.

"It's not funny." Sarah replied. She needed advice, not criticism.

"What would you do in that situation?" She asked.

This question only caused Erica to laugh more. "I would never _be _in that situation. I'm undead, not desperate."

Sarah couldn't help but glare, and Erica was surprised to find that the look almost hurt. She put her hands up-ironically-to say she was dropping the subject.

"Look, Sarah. If you wanna date your stupid nerd, no one's stopping you."

The feeling that was overwhelming Sarah made it difficult for her to notice that the joking nature of Erica's statement was only there to hide the tone of something most comparable to… anguish.

When she came to talk to Erica, dating Ethan was honestly the absolute furthest thing from Sarah's mind.

She felt guilty for not telling him her reason for holding his hand in the first place. She was sending mixed signals and, quite possibly, toying with his feelings.

Sarah didn't care about her own feelings afterward. Just Ethan's, because she knew she'd hurt them. She didn't know what to think of it all, but she did know one thing.

Erica was wrong. There was someone stopping Sarah from dating Ethan. Sarah herself.

She couldn't think straight, and had no idea what to do in that moment.

All Sarah was really sure of, was that seeing Ethan would make her smile. It always did…

**PLEASE READ & REVIEW! 'Planet Ethan' was such a perfect phrase for Sarah, I just had to use it for her conversation with Erica. I feel accomplished being able to finally use the word 'oodles' in my writing. Any ideas? Please let me know! I'll update ASAP! =]**


	3. Catfights & Potions

**This was the most fun I had writing a chapter in a long time, I'm really happy with it! Thanks to all who read, reviewed, gave ideas and all that good stuff! =]**

**This chapter is dedicated to Precious and xBreakingxSanityx **

**Enjoy!**

**I don't own My Babysitter's A Vampire. Or Star Wars.**

Ryellie's affinity toward Ethan could only be explained by the fact that he was a familiar face. She knew nothing about him, but since he was Benny's best friend, she knew it was a good choice to be his substitute lab partner. Seeing as she made the class have an uneven number of students, it was their hope that once Benny returned, the three of them would form a 'lab team'.

"Good mornin' to ya, lassie."

She would have shook her head and glared at Ethan if she wasn't so busy laughing. As his first words to her, they were quite memorable. He could tell she was a little offended, and tried to defend himself. "What reaction did you expect to get out of wearing that dress?" He asked, referring to the kilt-like pattern.

"Exactly that one." Ryellie admitted. She didn't exactly mind, but the comment reminded her of teasing. Even though she knew Ethan didn't mean it in a bad way. "I guess it's what I deserve for making my mom short a curtain." It was Ethan's turn to laugh then.

They went about their class work silently. Ethan because he needed to concentrate, Ryellie because she didn't have anything to say. It was a comfortable silence, and the two somehow bonded through it. The day was shaping up to be a Monday Ryellie couldn't possibly hate.

Ryellie got to hear a lot about Sarah once the class work was done.

She knew that Ethan liked Sarah immediately, it was his tone of voice that gave that away. She smiled at this. It was a story she'd heard before, but with a twist: a crush on the on the babysitter. In Ryellie's opinion, it was cute. That wasn't the only reason she was rooting for them, though.

Aside from the fact that Ryellie thought Ethan and Sarah would make a perfect match, they gave her hope. Ryellie didn't know what for, but she liked the feeling.

* * *

><p>Ryellie knew forming a friendship wasn't going to be as simple as it had been with Ethan when it came to the other kids at Whitechapel, but she didn't let herself worry.<p>

She saw Sarah in the hallway later on in the day, and knew that when Ethan had said she was beautiful, he hadn't just been blinded by love.

Looking at her, it was almost as if Ryellie could see into Sarah's soul. The thought was slightly creepy, it gave Ryellie a chill. Or maybe that was just from the cold. Ryellie didn't know what to blame her shivers on, but she shrugged that off when Sarah spoke.

"Hey. Ryellie, right? Ethan's told me about you. I'm Sarah." She said with a smile, Erica at her side.

Ryellie was practically beaming. Knowing that Ethan had talked about her made her feel special.

"Hey, Sarah. Ethan's spoken a lot of you." Ryellie couldn't help the stress she put on that sentence, and hoped Ethan wouldn't be mad at her for dropping hints. Although, by the look of Sarah's sunny smile, it seemed that she didn't need any hints.

"I'm sorry… for what happened." Sarah told Ryellie, although her first day in Whitechapel had been the furthest thing from her mind. At least, the morning of it was.

"It's fine." She replied. "I'm really happy here."

"What kind of name is Ryellie?" Erica asked.

She either hadn't heard about Ryellie's first day, or she just didn't care. Sarah glared at her, but Ryellie brushed it off. She wasn't going to let that bother her anymore. In fact, she spoke louder, not letting herself be intimidated. "It's my kind of name. What's yours?"

"Erica."

"Erica as in brave, honorable leader?" Ryellie asked, referring to the meaning of Erica's name. "I don't see the connection." She left with that as her last word, and a shy wave. She had to get home.

Erica bared her fangs. "It's what you get." Sarah told her, trying to hide the fact that she was laughing.

* * *

><p>Benny felt that most of his day was wasted. With no one else around, he'd been bored out of his mind. He knew he had to be, because he resorted to cleaning the house to keep himself busy.<p>

He came across the pile of his old clothes that Ryellie had left on the chair, and was debating what to do with them when something caught his eye.

A sunflower earring, that had wound up looped through a buttonhole by the little metal hook.

He figured Ryellie was just getting home, and he could head over there and return it to her.

They didn't know each other well enough for him to be able to just walk in through the back door, so he went around the block.

It was Ryellie's crazy cousins who answered the door, and that was quite a sight.

They were fighting over a flat iron. Rae had it in her hand, but Reegan was tugging on the cord. The two had a few visible injuries.

Rae dropped the flat iron when she saw Benny, and Reegan didn't even seem to notice that it landed on her foot.

"DANG! You're _cute_ for a nerd!" They told him.

"Thanks." He said-almost casually-although he wasn't used to hearing that from his own peers, much less a couple of twenty-year-olds.

"Can I come in? Ryellie left her earring at my house and I wanna give it back to her."

"We'll do it." Reegan replied, much too quickly and urgently to avoid sounding suspicious. The way her blue eyes bulged didn't help the situation either.

"She's not home yet." Rae told Benny. "Plus, we need to come up with a cover story." That sentence came out as more of a mumble. One that Benny overheard.

"Cover story for what?" He asked. Rae froze, and her sister gave her a sharp nudge.

"That was an…involuntary reflex." Reegan told Benny, which he wouldn't have believed even if she hadn't whispered "Rae!" Right afterward.

"A cat got in the house." Rae said as she rubbed her aching arm. "Two of 'em, actually. We don't know how, but they tore the place apart. Now that they're gone, we're trying to come up with something to tell Ryellie because she _hates _cats… with a passion."

Benny blinked. As unbelievable as all of that sounded, he couldn't help but ask: "Ryellie _hates _something?" His disbelief clearly showed in his facial expression.

"Just cats." Rae clarified.

Reegan raised her eyebrows when she added: "She's scared of just about everything else." That part didn't sound like a lie; it would explain Ryellie's shy nature.

"So, the earring?" Reegan went on, as she extended her hand. She was silently telling Benny to fork it over.

"Uh-uh." Benny said, almost sternly. He wasn't going to give in to her order. Instead, he made one of his own. "Not until I see inside the house." _And Ryellie gets here_. He thought.

It wasn't just his suspicions that tempted Benny, but his curiosity as well. For one thing, the house was huge. It wasn't anywhere close to mansion-size, but still, what house with six bedrooms and four bathrooms wouldn't be huge?

The girls sighed and stepped back, letting Benny walked in after Reegan kicked the flat iron out of his way. "Better him than Ry." Rae said to her twin, only after he'd walked by them.

Aside from the crooked picture frames that decorated the walls, the books knocked off the bookshelf, and the overturned coffee table, the scratches on the banister of the staircase that lead to the second floor were the first things Benny noticed.

He threw the twins a look. "_Cats _did this?"

"Yeah." Rae replied nonchalantly, adding: "Those crazy animals."

"Was it really so important who got the straightener first? Crazy animals is _right_."

The girls stared at Benny, with their mouths agape. "How'd you know it was us?"

"Nothing in this town is normal. Why should I assume your family is?"

"We are!" Rae argued. Then, she rephrased herself. "Well, mostly. It's just us, our dad and our aunt who can shape shift."

"It must have skipped Ryellie's generation." Reegan added. "Lucky her."

"The point is, she gets freaked out by _housecats_. Imagine what would happen if she found out we can transform into them. Or anything else, for that matter." Rae told him.

"We would _never _tell her." Reegan added, in a harsh tone. As if she was threatening Benny, in case he didn't keep his mouth shut. "It wouldn't be good."

"What wouldn't be good?" Ryellie asked as she walked through the front door, holding her keychain with the plastic teddy bear that doubled as a flashlight on it.

Her eyes were filled with worry, but she smiled since Benny was there. While she eyed her cousins questioningly, she gave him one of her signature silent waves.

In answer to Ryellie's question, Benny said: "Telling you your cousins are shape shifters. Your mom and uncle too."

Rae gasped, Reegan growled, Benny sent the twins a defiant smile, and Ryellie laughed.

The three others looked at her, stunned.

"You're not mad at us?" Rae asked slowly, while Reegan scowled.

"Do I have permission to _kill _your friend?" She added. Ryellie didn't answer either of them.

"Hey, Benny." She greeted happily. "What's up?"

While the twins looked appalled about getting the silent treatment, he said: "You left this at my house."

She took the earring and slipped into one of the pockets of the skirt of her dress. "Thank you. What's your grandma up to?"

"Gardening." He replied, wondering why Ryellie even wanted to know. He found out when she replied.

"Cool, let's go hang out with her."

"Alright." Benny agreed with a laugh, once again leading the way. _Always full of surprises_.

* * *

><p>"Grandma, I thought we were supposed to be <em>gardening<em>." Benny said, wondering how the three of them wound up in the kitchen.

"We'll get back to that a little later. Ryellie just found out she's been surrounded by the supernatural all her life."

Ryellie had the look on her face to prove it. Benny had never seen her expression so sour.

"You can't blame her for taking an interest in magic."

Benny didn't blame Ryellie for anything, and figured he should be used to his plans changing whenever she was added to the equation.

What he couldn't wrap his head around was why the three of them were brewing up a love potion. The same one he and Ethan had used, except with one variation. This one worked on boys.

"Isn't this dangerous?" Benny asked his grandma. He couldn't forget what happened last time.

"Benny, every spell has the potential to be dangerous, and virtually every one of them has an anti-potion."

"Anti-potion?" Benny echoed, almost darkly. His grandmother smiled slyly. "You didn't think I'd let you boys get away with doing something like that without a lesson, did you?"

He grumbled, while his grandma handed Ryellie two miniature water guns. The blue one, filled with the love potion. The green had the anti-potion. "I've been told it's more fun this way." She said, while Ryellie and Benny laughed.

She pointed to the spell book and told Ryellie: "Say this with me, dear."

Ryellie helped Benny's grandma recite the incantation, and Benny watched her eyes light up as if she was a little girl who just spotted a puppy in a pet store window. He couldn't help but smile at her innocence.

"Alright, now give it a try." Benny's grandma instructed.

"Wait." Benny said, realizing something. "I'm the guinea pig?"

Ryellie turned to him, smiling in a jokingly evil way. "I love guinea pigs." She said. He chuckled, as she took a shot at him with the blue water gun.

Benny got quiet for awhile, leaving his grandma and Ryellie to have nothing to do but watch, wonder, and wait for a reaction. Then, he spoke. Suddenly and softly.

"Ryellie, can I tell you a secret?"

She wanted to tease him, and give a flat-out 'no' in reply. She resisted though, figuring that-being that she was dealing with someone under the effects of a love potion-it could be disastrous.

"Sure." With that, Benny whispered in her ear, making her flinch just slightly, from the tickling sensation she felt.

"I think you're pretty."

Ryellie giggled in surprise. Not what she expected to hear coming from a known flirt. As she pondered this, Benny disappeared. She quickly found out that the reason for that was to bring her flowers.

Roses, to be exact. From-where else, but-the garden. He'd made sure to take off all the thorns, and handed the roses to her.

Ryellie prepared herself for more ticklish whispers, which is exactly what she got.

"_You _are my Princess Leia." Benny told her.

Had she been at Whitechapel before Erica was turned into a vampire, Ryellie would have understood the reason for the stress on the word 'you'.

Benny paused slightly, but not out of fear. Ryellie could tell he was trying to be dramatic, and had to admit it was working.

"I think I'm falling in love with you."

Ryellie's smile seemed to leave nothing to question, and the lovestruck Benny took that as some sort of sign. He was too deep under the spell to account for witnesses, as if he and Ryellie were the only two people in the universe.

Ryellie only became aware of that notion when she noticed Benny's lips were dangerously close to her own.

Ryellie stumbled backward, and took the shot with the anti-potion in the meantime.

She couldn't catch herself in time, and fell backwards, causing the others to gasp, but she barely spent any time on the floor. Benny picked her up, like he had when she got caught in the rain.

When Ryellie was standing upright again, she gave Benny a tap that was a little less than gentle.

He was caught off guard. "Ahh! Ryellie, what gives?"

His grandma swallowed a laugh, and Ryellie replied: "That wasn't for you, that was for lovesick you."

Benny laughed. "Then why do I get the abuse?"

"Sorry." Ryellie said. "It's just, that was creepy."

Benny didn't know whether to laugh about Ryellie really being easily scared, or be offended that she was freaked out by his spell-induced love.

"This shouldn't be called a love potion. It should be called a lie potion." She mumbled to herself, feeling stupid.

"How's about we give one more potion a try?" Benny's grandma suggested.

"I'm all for that." Benny replied. "As long as _she _gets to be the guinea pig this time." Ryellie laughed, but accepted the challenge.

"Now, interestingly, you were telling us you felt deceived Ryellie."

"Well, yeah." She told Benny's grandma. "My family lied to me about who they were." She didn't want to dwell on that thought, so she just dropped it. It was easy to forget about when she was having fun.

"Well, there are a lot of spells that were created for deception." Benny's grandma explained. "The people who use them are looking for protection, when they try to blend in with those around them."

To Ryellie, it was as if she was saying the book had ways for her to shape shift, something she would never be able to do on her own.

Ryellie chose a spell for masquerading as a vampire. She couldn't understand why, it just interested her.

The amateur version of the potion solely made the person who drank it grow fangs.

While Benny watched his grandma and Ryellie stir the ingredients the potion into a mixture, he asked his friend: "Are you afraid of vampires?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, I've never met one." While all three of them cast the spell, Benny almost couldn't keep from laughing.

He was surprised Ryellie hadn't caught onto the truth yet. "You've met two." He informed her.

Instead of looking shocked, Ryellie just seemed upset for not noticing.

"Sarah and Erica." Benny told her.

"Erica?" Ryellie repeated. "That doesn't surprise me." As she told him this, she took sip of the potion brew.

"Why not?" Benny asked. "Are you scared of her?"

In response to Benny's question, Ryellie outright scoffed. And bared her potion-made fangs.

_Oh, apparently Ryellie is capable of hating something. Undead blonde chicks. _Benny thought.

* * *

><p>Ryellie wished she could've stayed with Benny and his grandma. She even thought too deep over that, and imagined herself as part of their family. She couldn't help it. She had never been lied to before. It hurt, like no pain she'd ever felt.<p>

Which is why even after she got home-still trying to avoid talking to the shape shifter side of her family-Ryellie sat on the rooftop, deep in thought.

Until her thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash.

"I _really _gotta work on my roof landings. I thought I was getting better at this."

"Are you _okay_?" Ryellie asked slowly, dazed and a bit scared.

Of all the times she had been up to the rooftop of her house,-in all the places she'd lived througout her life- Ryellie had never had anyone up there with her.

Especially not a totally stranger.

If it wasn't for the fact that she'd seen him around school-with Benny and Ethan-that would have been her cue to skedaddle.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." He replied. "That happens _all _the time. I'm Rory. What's your name? Is this your house? It's _HUGE_!"

The strangest part about the way Rory talked-or rather, overtalked-at top speed, was that Ryellie was able to keep up without a problem.

He didn't make her feel as shy as she knew she acted, either.

She answered with a smile on her face, going up the list of questions he'd asked rather than down it.

"Yeah, it's my house. I just moved here. You've probably heard about me. From gossip, anyway. I was the girl Benny punched someone for."

She said that part with pride, making Rory laugh. Then she continued.

"My name's Ryellie. Ryellie Katrice Temberlon."

She didn't know why she told him her full name, he hadn't asked for it. It rolled off her tongue so easily, and she was proud to have it.

"And your name is _AWESOME_!" Ryellie went on. "Did you know it means 'strong'? I bet you are. Stronger than you look. In spirit too, no doubt."

Rory was-oddly enough-stunned into silence. He was amazed at how well she was able to keep up the conversation.

"Rory, I have a question for you." Ryellie told him.

"Okay, shoot." He replied enthusiastically.

"How exactly did you end up on my roof?"

Rory searched Ryellie's eyes for a sign that she could be trusted. He quickly found it, because he gave her an honest answer: "Flight practice."

Had it not been for the day she'd had, Ryellie would have been surprised. And scared.

"Lemme guess, you're a vampire?" She asked.

On cue, Rory showed his fangs.

It was an answer that took the least amount of effort, but made a lasting impression. His voice rang in her head when he answered:

"The proof is in the fangs."

* * *

><p>"Hey, Ryellie. What'cha up to?"<p>

She almost fell down she was so startled, but-as-always-Benny caught her.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered, surprised but not angry. "You're _suspended_."

She said that word in a disgusted tone of voice, thinking that was her fault.

Lamely, she added: "And I was totally not spying on Ethan and Sarah, if that's what you're implying."

As Ryellie answered, she had to force herself to keep from looking up at the spiral staircase-which she loved so much she wanted for her own-from where she and Benny were standing.

"I snuck in using I spell I'd _rather not mention_, and the awesome power of stealth!"

Even being as dorky as he knew he was, Benny knew he had to be bored to tears if he had nothing better do than sneak into school.

He couldn't believe it was only Tuesday.

He also couldn't believe Ryellie's claim about not spying, and was about to reply to that with a cliché, sarcastic line, when he noticed what she was wearing. And her cinnamon-bun hairstyle.

"Oh. My. God." Benny said, with a beaming smile on.

Ethan and Sarah exchanged amused glances when they made their way down the staircase and caught sight of Ryellie. They didn't even question why Benny was there.

"_Why_?" Benny asked, because there had to be a reason why a girl would be bold enough to show up to school dressed like Princess Leia.

"It's a long story." Ryellie replied vaguely.

It was her own inside joke, one Benny had no memory of.

"No wonder she hangs out with you guys." Erica said when she met up with the others at the bottom of the staircase. "She's _queen _of the dorks."

"Don't listen to her." Benny told Ryellie. "That's _hot_."

"Totally!" Rory agreed. The group jumped. Ryellie the most, because he was suddenly standing right next to her.

"Vampire Ninja strikes again." She declared, leading to Benny's inevitable faceplam.

"I can't _believe_ he got to her too." He whispered to Ethan, as if he felt sorry that the two had met.

Ryellie on the other hand, was happy she'd met Rory.

Especially since when he came around just then, he distracted everyone form noticing that her cheeks had turned the color of her hair.

* * *

><p>When the school day was over, Ryellie was all set to ride home with Sarah, Ethan and Benny.<p>

That hadn't been her original plan, but they caught up with her while she was walking home, and she gladly accepted the offer.

Before she could say so, however, Reegan and Rae showed up.

"Hey, Ry. Wanna go for ice cream or something? Your friends can come too. Our treat." Rae told her.

They had resorted to bribing her with food to get her to talk to them.

Ryellie only blinked, she didn't respond. Reegan scoffed, annoyed. "You're _still _mad at us?"

"Have you guys apologized yet?" Benny asked the twins, seeing where Ryellie was coming from.

"Shut up, dork!" Reegan replied harshly.

Ryellie glared at her two cousins, but she still didn't say anything. "Fine, be that way." Rae whined.

"As long as you don't have anything to say," Regan began, motioning to the backseat of Sarah's car. "we'll just go ahead and tell Benny here about how since you didn't know his name until Friday afternoon, you called him 'Stripes' for the first eighteen pages of your diary entry for the day."

They were surprised to see Ryellie remain unflinching. She said: "Benny, you know how they like to _lie_." As she said this, Ryellie couldn't help but grit her teeth.

She told her friends: "I'll see you guys tomorrow." and she got into Reegan's car instead. Rae never promised ice cream and didn't deliver, but Ryellie didn't think she could stand to have her friends come along, with the way the twins were embarrassing her.

Rory-who had only showed up just that second-waved after Ryellie enthusiastically. "Bye!"

She had to laugh, while her cousins eyed him strangely in the rearview mirror.

"Where did _he _come from?" They asked. Ryellie scoffed. "I can't believe the _shape_ _shifters_ question something like that."

* * *

><p>Ryellie needed a break from her cousins' constant teasing, so she took up Ethan's invitation to come over to his house.<p>

"I think I'm slowly dying of embarrassment. He's not here, is he?"

By 'he' she meant Benny, that was obvious. When she said it, she sounded worried. As if she would get teased by the two of them as well for what her cousins had said.

"No, but he will be." Ethan replied, motioning toward the fridge to ask her if she wanted anything. Ryellie shook her head. She wasn't hungry, and she wasn't sure if she should blame that on the ice cream, or her cousins' teasing.

Ryellie looked around, and then spotted Jane, sitting at the table eating cereal.

"You have a little sister? I've always wanted one of those!"

Ethan rolled his eyes playfully. "Who'd you think Sarah babysat for?" They shared a laugh.

Then, Ryellie said: "I'll trade you for my cousins!"

Ethan and Jane both laughed at that. "Get your own." He teased. Ryellie pouted jokingly and crossed her arms. Then, she caught sight of something.

"What's that for?" Ryellie asked, pointing to a reminder on the fridge.

"Oh, it's something about my parents' date Friday night." Ethan told her.

He watched Ryellie's eyes light up. She couldn't contain her excitement. She gave Ethan a playful tap as she raved: "Your parents _still_ go on _dates_? That's so _CUTE!"_

Ryellie's touch sent shockwaves through Ethan's body, because it triggered a vision.

One of a very different Ryellie, covered in cuts and bruises, red in the face from crying. It was easy to read her lips as she ran toward Ethan's backyard. There was only one thing she screamed.

"BENNY!"

By the way Ryellie screamed, it looked like she had lost her voice. Whatever happened left her speechless.

Just like Ethan after he had that vision…

**Thanks for reading, PLEASE REVIEW! Two first appearences, I got to use the word 'skedaddle' and Rory did the title drop! I feel accomplished. Hope you loved this chapter as much as I loved writing it. Any ideas? Anything from this chapter you want me to expand on in the next? I'll update ASAP! =]**


	4. Mixed Emotions

**This chapter took a lot of work, I hope it pays off. A big thank you to all my readers, reveiwers, favoriters and all-that-good-stuffers.**

**This chapter is dedicated to xBreakingxSanityx, Aerity, and loveu5missu6 (Please check out Status: Totally confused and A Special Sleepover. Amazingly epic awesomeness!)**

**Enjoy! I do not own My Babysitter's A Vampire**

Ethan didn't know what made him keep his vision a secret. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that both the stars had been having so much fun at his house the previous night. He didn't want to ruin their good time.

It also didn't make much sense to him, and probably scared him into silence.

If Ryellie was normal, should she be able to give him a vision?

Then again, Benny had said that practically half her family was made up of shape shifters.

Thoughts of the vision stopped when Sarah came up to Ethan at his locker.

The hallways were surprisingly empty. Ethan had gone to school early, thinking a slower walk might help calm his nerves. He didn't know why Sarah was early, but he was happy whatever the reason.

"Hey, Ethan." She greeted gleefully.

He didn't know what Sarah was so happy about, but once again, he didn't care. As long as she was happy.

"What're you thinking?"

She just had to ask. And Ethan just had to blurt out the answer.

"I love you."

The world stopped. In that moment, he wished he was the vampire instead. With their speed, Ethan could get away from Sarah as fast as possible. If they both weren't frozen in place. He wished at least-by some miracle-Sarah hadn't heard him.

"What did you say?" She asked, slowly and softly.

Ethan knew when Sarah asked that question, it wasn't a chance to rephrase himself. He couldn't just change his answer, because she'd heard it the first time. She just had to make sure she'd heard right.

Deep down, Ethan knew that Sarah had always been somewhat aware of the truth, if not fully. That, he could handle. It was her reaction to finding out she was right that he wasn't sure he could take. He had to muster up all the courage he had to keep his eyes from brimming with tears when he finally spoke again.

"I said… I love you."

The second time around, Ethan's words came out stronger than they had before. He sounded sure of it, like he had been for awhile. No matter how crazy it sounded. He knew those words weren't supposed to just be thrown around, and he wasn't going to take them back.

Sarah let the words sink in.

After her initial shock wore off, the first feeling she had was guilt. All she could do was think back to the hand-holding incident.

The guilty feeling was quickly replaced by fear. She was thinking of the end before they'd reached a start. Not that she was sure they could go anywhere.

Anger took over when she realized why she'd held back in the first place: they were from two different worlds. The sadness that came with that realization was painful, but a feeling of immense joy suddenly overwhelmed her.

"You don't know that for sure." Sarah said. Ethan wanted to argue, but she didn't give him the chance. "But, even if you do, we have to… pace ourselves." _We have to take each day as it comes_. They both thought.

"So," Sarah began. "Do you wanna go out with me?" It was a chance at normalcy, something the two of them weren't used to. In that moment, Ethan was sure that he was the vampire he'd be floating. Unless that was strictly a Rory thing.

He couldn't say 'yes' fast enough. Or more times in a single breath. The more Ethan said it, the more Sarah smiled.

"Okay, where to?" She asked.

Ethan looked at Sarah with bulging yet smiling eyes. "We can't go _now_!"

She shrugged. "Who's gonna miss us? Class hasn't started yet. It's like we were never even here."

Ethan debated that, and Sarah held out her hand for him to take.

With that, the two of them were running out the door, trying not to laugh too loudly as they left.

* * *

><p>"Weird, Ethan didn't say he wasn't gonna be here today."<p>

Erica rolled her eyes at Rory, wondering why she was even hanging out with him. That was the last thing she'd ever plan to do with an open class period. "What are you, his _mom_?" He shrugged that off.

"You know what else I think is weird?"

"No one cares what you think." Erica told Rory harshly.

"I do." Ryellie said as she came up to the two others. Erica gave her a look.

"Your dress looks like a picnic blanket." She told her.

Ryellie smiled. "That's because it used to be one." Then, her smile turned into a frown. "Let the boy speak."

Erica scoffed, but reluctantly complied. "Go ahead." She said to Rory.

"Sarah's not here either." He pointed out.

"Yeah, weird." Erica agreed. She eyed both Rory and Ryellie. "Like you two."

Rory fought off a frown, and Ryellie whispered to him: "She just wishes she was us."

Rory laughed happily. "That tickles."

Ryellie's eyes went wide. "You have ticklish ears too?" She practically gushed. "We should form a club."

Erica groaned, making Ryellie glare at her. "I thought you were a vampire, not a zombie. Besides, I know you do all that just because you don't wanna admit you think he's cute." With that, she walked away.

When it came to Erica and Rory, Ryellie's logic was three's a crowd.

She didn't understand why Rory was obsessed with being Erica's accessory. "Maybe I'm just jealous." Ryellie thought aloud. No one ever showed her that kind of attention. Or devotion.

* * *

><p>"I bet you miss her." Rory said to Erica as they walked down the hallway. "You probably have no idea what to do without your best friend. Like me when it comes to Ethan and Benny. Even though they're more each other's best friends. This whole day's been going by so slow I don't know how I can stand it!"<p>

Erica turned sharply and shoved Rory into a row of lockers. He was too stunned to realize if it hurt or not. "I don't know how I can stand _you_." She said. Then, in a mocking tone, she added: "Oh, wait. That's right, I can't."

"Oh, I get it." Rory replied, his face never falling. "You're mad 'cause you're lonely. Well, that's why I'm here for you."

Erica shook her head, talking through her teeth. "What is _wrong _with you? I mean seriously Rory, are you out of your immortal _mind_? I'm not mad because I'm lonely, I'm mad because you're _annoying_!"

"I don't think so. You're lonely. You've been like that for awhile now, I can tell. It's in your eyes. It's okay, you can say it." Rory told her.

Erica scoffed . "How can I say anything when you don't even take a break to breathe? You know, I wouldn't think you were so insufferable if anything you talked about actually had a point." She was trying to get in his face. Make him flinch. And admit _she_ had a point.

Rory didn't look hurt by this. He looked confused. For once, he had to think about what he would say next. His question came out slowly. "Then, why do you always let me keep talking?"

Erica blinked, unable to deny that she was stunned. "What?" She asked, sounding just as confused as Rory had.

"Everyone knows you're tough, and you could _definitely_ take me, but…" He didn't know how to finish, and she didn't know how to respond.

"I'm waiting to see if you get tired of always talking, but never really saying anything." Erica said finally.

"Good point." Rory replied. Short and sweet.

"I _am_ tired of that." He admitted. "But there's a reason behind it."

"Which is?" Erica asked, watching his smile turn brighter. He'd been waiting to hear that question from her for a long time.

"I'm waiting for you to shut me up again." Rory told Erica.

She flat out laughed in reply. "You'll be waiting forever." She started walking away.

Rory shrugged innocently where he stood, refusing to let his smile falter. "Good thing we're vampires then, huh?"

Erica paused, and turned back to Rory again slowly. She walked back to where he was standing, practically stamping her feet the whole way. She was prepared to give him a piece of her mind, and get him off her back for good.

Except, Erica's mind didn't get a say. She was too preoccupied with kissing Rory to think.

It seemed like the kiss could've gone on forever. After all, there had been so much that went left unsaid between the two of them. The desire never to stop was completely mutual, but they eventually needed to breathe.

That's all they could stand to pause for: a breath. In a single breath, Erica managed to say close to a full sentence. "You tell anyone about this, you're dead. Again."

Speechless, Rory could only manage a simple nod as he leaned in for another passionate kiss.

* * *

><p>"We don't have much to plant today." Benny's grandma said. Ryellie had come over right after school, eager for more bonding time with the boring day she'd had so far.<p>

Benny watched Ryellie muse over an aloe plant. She broke off a leaf. Her eyes shifted to see if anyone was watching. Her two witnesses could only laugh in reaction.

"Yay, free lotion!" Benny and his grandma exchanged amused glances until they heard her say: "Whoa, overload." After a short pause, Ryellie added: "Hey, Benny, want some free lotion?" weakly. The way he raised his eyebrows had her expecting a 'no' in reply.

Benny held out his hands to her, though, and she took them. For a second, it was almost as if the aloe was glue and their hands were stuck together, but they let go.

"I think your cousins' craziness is rubbing off on you." Benny said, making Ryellie cock her head just slightly.

"You don't think I'm capable of my own craziness?" The pride in her voice made him smile.

"If you two are done sharing your 'free lotion'," Benny's grandma began, unable to resist smiling, "who wants to help me plant carnations?"

Ryellie jumped at the chance. "These are the flowers they make corsages with, right?" She asked.

"Yes, they do." Benny's grandma answered.

Ryellie gave a nod in reply. "That's about the only thing I know about flowers. It's why my family cooks instead of gardening. If we can't make the house look pretty, we figure we might as well make it smell delicious."

Even at the distance Benny was standing away from the other two, he'd overheard. "Gotta love that logic." He replied under laughs.

When Ryellie was done assisting Benny's grandma with planting, she ventured off to another part of the garden. Benny felt his grandma's eyes on him as he wiped his hands off quickly.

He just wasn't used to aloe straight from the plant. Catching sight of what he'd done, his grandma narrowed her eyes at him jokingly. "What?" Benny questioned innocently.

"I'm onto you." She told him.

Without a response to that, Benny got down in the dirt to plant lilacs. Ryellie stood by his grandma when she got back from wherever she'd wandered to. "Okay, I lied." She told both of them. It was strange for all three of them to hear, until she explained herself.

"Another thing I know about flowers is that lilacs are my favorite."

"Why is that, dear?" Benny's grandma asked her.

"The meaning behind them." Ryellie answered dreamily.

_Flowers have meanings? _Benny thought, quickly remembering how he'd always heard that roses symbolized love. "What's that?" He asked Ryellie, seeing that the look on his grandma's face suggested she already knew the answer.

"I'd tell you, but that would spoil things." Ryellie said. Benny blinked.

"Whatever that means!" He honestly didn't think he'd ever be able to decode that statement, but he wasn't angry about it. Just surprised. "I didn't know you kept secrets."

"I tell you later, I promise." As Ryellie said this to Benny, she held out her hand, waiting for him to take what she held in it: a four leaf clover.

When he did, she didn't give him a chance to thank her. There was something she couldn't let herself forget to say: "The best luck I ever had was being some random guy's _target_."

Benny stood up as Ryellie went on: "I've been looking for a way to thank you ever since, but I don't think anything will ever really sum it up."

By the look in her eye, Benny could tell Ryellie felt she was being overly dramatic. He couldn't think of a way to respond, and what came out of his mouth didn't make sense to either of them. Or his grandma.

"I, uh, think I left my… printer running."

With that, Benny was gone. Ryellie sighed and knelt down in the dirt, too disappointed in herself to care about how dirty her dress would get. "Well, I don't even have to ask what that was about. I know it was something I said."

* * *

><p>"Ethan, could you stand still for like <em>five seconds<em>, I'm trying to have a conversation here."

"Oh, he can't hear you." Jane told Benny, standing in front of Ethan's computer to have the conversation for him.

"Huh? What do you mean he can't hear me?"

"I've been trying to ask what's going on since he got home, but he wouldn't stop singing long enough to tell me."

"_Singing_?" Benny echoed.

"Hey, I can't help it if I'm happy." Ethan said finally, coming into view.

"Yeah, well, _good for you_, but I'm _FREAKING OUT OVER HERE_!"

Ethan gulped and Jane jumped.

"Yeah, how do _you_ like it?" Benny asked Ethan. Then, he added: "Sorry, Jane."

Instead of answering Benny, she looked up at her brother. "Benny's scary when he yells." She left with that, and Ethan sat down in front of his computer.

"Benny _is _scary when he yells. What's your problem?" It was only then Benny realized he didn't know how to answer.

"I don't know." He said lamely. "What's your problem?" If Ethan was acting weird, there had to be some reason. Plus, Benny didn't feel like discussing his own issues.

Ethan took the question seriously. "I can't figure out what to wear on my date."

His smile was so bright, it could've blinded Benny.

"You asked Sarah out?" For a second, he swore Ethan was joking.

"This time, yes. She asked me out this morning." Ethan said.

"This morning? It's _Wednesday_." Benny said this as more of his own reminder. For him, all the days had began to run together.

"I know." Ethan replied, almost self-righteously. "What do you think of that?"

"I hate being suspended." Benny decided. "I miss everything." _And I mess everything else up_.

"I thought you said it was more than worth it." Ethan reminded him teasingly, too happy to notice the look on Benny's face. _He just had to rub it in_.

"Have fun on your date." Benny told Ethan sarcastically.

"I will." He replied.

If he'd noticed Benny's tone, he didn't care. Nothing could ruin this for Ethan.

* * *

><p>"You just came back from hanging out with Benny and you're not smiling? That's so weird." Rae commented.<p>

Without even looking at her cousins while she walked to her room, Ryellie said: "You know, it's probably because of what you two said." She wished she could blame it on them, but she felt it was ultimately her own fault.

She turned around when she got in the doorway, blocking it. "Now when he looks at me, he doesn't see a friend. Just some obsessive freak."

Reegan rolled her eyes. "Ry, do you always have to be _such_ a drama queen?"

Ryellie crossed her arms. "I'd rather be a drama queen than a liar."

"Let it go, already." The twins told her.

"I can't. I'm your cousin and you guys don't even trust me."

"It's not that." Rae insisted. "We were trying to get away from our shape shifter lives. It's why we came here."

Ryellie blinked. "You wanted to get away from your supernatural lives, so we came to _Whitechapel_? Great move."

"You know what?" Reegan sneered. "You're never gonna understand us. So why don't you just run back to your boyfriend?"

"I'd do that if I had one," Ryellie told them. "but that's never gonna happen, not with Benny."

* * *

><p>"Ethan, where are you going all dressed up?" His mom asked when he came downstairs, calling him to everyone's attention.<p>

Both his dad and sister could've easily warned him to duck and cover based on the hunch they had, which was proven right when Ethan answered.

"I've got a date." Instead, they let him be smothered.

"_MY SON'S GOT A DATE!" _Samantha exclaimed happily, practically tackling him to the floor when she hugged him.

"Mom, I understand your excitement, but does the whole world need to know?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Samantha said, getting a hold of herself and letting Ethan go.

"So, who's this date with?" Ross asked.

Ethan was surprised that his parents couldn't guess, but figured that was because they weren't around most of the time when Sarah was over. He could see by the warm smile that spread across Jane's face that she for one already knew, and he decided-of course-to fill everyone else in.

Ethan's face broke into another overwhelmed smile when he spoke next.

"Sarah."

* * *

><p>Benny glared at the pile of his old clothes he still hadn't moved. It was strange how-if he thought about it enough-everything reminded him of Ryellie.<p>

It was as if the distance between the two of them took eons longer than a walk around the block.

They were separated by rambling words Benny couldn't change. Ryellie was making it difficult for him to hold a conversation, as if he was the shy one. He didn't want to think about it. Not when his only company in that moment was dead silence.

"_**THAT'S SO UNFAIR, I HATE YOU**_**!"**

Other than that, which sent Benny running full speed toward his best friend's house.

* * *

><p>Jane let Benny in. Ross and Samantha were too busy trying to get Ethan to open the door he'd just slammed in their faces to take care of that themselves.<p>

"Did they tell him he couldn't go?" Benny asked. Jane just nodded, and they both headed upstairs.

"I don't understand. Five seconds ago you were so happy for me. What's the problem all of a sudden? You can't say you don't trust her, she's here every Friday. What're we supposed to do? Just pretend this whole day didn't happen?" Throughout his entire rant, Ethan was fighting back tears.

"We're trying to protect you." Samantha said, looking to avoid an argument. She didn't want to be brutally honest and say what was on her mind: _Sarah will outgrow you and move on sooner than you'll be willing to accept. _That's how she saw it, and Ross had the same opinion.

Ethan opened the door. If he was surprised to see Benny standing in front of it with everyone else, he didn't let that show.

"I don't think I need to get into all those cliché sayings about love."

His parents flinched at the word, but he continued on.

"This morning I said the worst thing I could've said at the worst possible time. There was nothing special about this day, and no room for me to say things like that. I thought the world was going to end, but it didn't. This turned out to be the best day of my life because I decided to do what I've wanted to for months now. And if I end up hurt because of it, the least I could say is I had the guts to try."

No one was going to argue with that.

* * *

><p>Sarah came to the door in the middle of Ethan's apologies. "You guys know I love you, right?" His parents laughed.<p>

"Of course." Samantha replied. "We love you, too."

"Oh, and mom… Sarah's camera shy so can we skip the pictures?" Reluctantly, she agreed, as they reached the door.

"Sure, but one of these days I'm gonna catch her off guard."

Ethan and Sarah were speechless at the sight of each other. Their smiles said enough on their own, though.

Knowing they were too lost in each other's eyes to pay much attention to the world around them, the others gave silent waves the two reciprocated as goodbye.

As Ethan made his way to Sarah's car, he imagined himself saying "I've gotta warn you, my mom might attack you with a camera some day soon. Run if you see a flash going off." He remembered what a disaster picture day had been, though, so he stopped himself. Instead, he just let Sarah speak.

She told him where she thought of going, since the location of their first date had been Ethan's choice.

She had a nature trail in mind, something they clearly weren't dressed for, but they both knew they'd worn what they did to impress each other.

"The road that leads there is barely even used anymore." He liked the idea of no one else being around to bother them. "It's practically deserted." He added.

"I know." Sarah replied with a smile, tossing Ethan her car keys. "That's why it's your turn to drive."

* * *

><p>"Hey, don't you know how dangerous it is to fall asleep on a roof?"<p>

Ryellie gave a quiet whine in reply. "I wasn't sleeping. I can't sleep." She told Benny.

She figured if he was talking to her again-and starting the conversation-she better just be happy about it, and not question the reason why.

Benny climbed up on the roof and sat next to Ryellie. She sat up, and he handed something to her. "I bought this for you. I was gonna make it myself, but then I remembered I'm not that talented." He admitted.

"Lotion?" She asked, laughing.

"It's free." He teased.

"Lilac?" Ryellie guessed.

"Yeah." Benny said.

"Thanks." She smiled, and went to pour some on her hands.

"Ugh!" Benny couldn't help but laugh.

"Déjà vu." He said.

"What is it with me and my lack of portion control?" She asked, practically shoving her hands in Benny's face. "Does that look dime-sized to you?" Ryellie was clearly annoyed with herself, and went on: "I'll tell you how it looks. It looks like a ploy."

"A _ploy_?" Benny echoed, trying not to burst out laughing and wake up the whole neighborhood.

"Yeah. A stupid, selfish, poorly-disguised ploy to get you to hold my hand."

Ryellie's hand almost rushed over her mouth for the second time since they'd known each other. In a pointless attempt to try to force the words back in, which would've resulted in a mouthful of lilac lotion.

Benny laughed. "Isn't that ironic." The most ironic part about it was he was wishing he hadn't said that.

"What do you mean?" Ryellie asked, lost. She turned to him in anticipation of an answer, and at first it seemed he'd never elaborate. Like he wasn't going to let himself say something he might regret. He seemed to scratch that idea fairly quickly.

In answer, Benny took Ryellie's hands in his. "I see it as the perfect excuse."

Her eyes went wide, but she turned her attention to the stars for distraction. "Do you think I'm pretty?" She asked, still not daring to look at him. That question was supposed to stay in her head.

"Yeah." Benny said, without hesitation. Ryellie was happy he hadn't laughed, and surprised she wasn't angry he hadn't given her the cliché 'I think you're beautiful' reply.

However, he did elaborate eventually, keeping his eyes on the stars as well.

Benny was amazed the stars looked virtually the same as always, a major contrast to all that had changed in the course of one day.

"But… more than that. It's not exactly easy to explain. You'd think with dictionaries that weigh more than cinderblocks, I'd be able to give you an answer." He said honestly, despite his fear. And-although she didn't know that-Ryellie felt she had to do the same for him.

"Well, I think you're… I don't really know what the word is. You've got great looks."

"You're cousins think so too." Benny said, with mock pride.

Ryellie rolled her eyes. "Don't make me go all 'Erica' on you. I may not have fangs, but I can be tough." They both laughed lightly.

"Can I just say this is the weirdest conversation we've ever had?" Benny asked, knowing that that was saying something.

Ryellie nodded. "I agree completely."

"We're still holding hands aren't we?" He asked, not bothering to check.

In response, she gave a weak: "Uh-huh."

Ryellie let go, and Benny's face dropped.

Until she pulled him into that hug-tackle she'd been thinking about since she her first day.

Their heartbeats were like two overly-competitive runners in a championship race.

Benny tilted Ryellie's head up so they could finally look at each other, instead of avoiding that.

She wasn't even startled by the touch. In fact, the only thing that scared them was their next move. But apparently, they both had the same thought.

Benny gently moved Ryellie's arms up so that they were wrapped around his neck, and she tilted her head just slightly as he leaned in to kiss her.

The stars were their only witnesses, as the two were wrapped up in each other. The scent of lilac swirled into the air.

Ryellie wasn't sure the reason-the joy of the moment, or the fear of what would happen once it was over-but a single tear rolled down her cheek.

The tear ran off course as it was met by one of Benny's…

**PLEASE REVIEW! Favorite part? Ideas? I'll update ASAP! =]**


	5. Sardines

**Here's chapter 5! I'm already done writing chapter 6, because my rough draft was so long I split it into two parts. A GIANT THANK YOU to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited and all that good stuff!**

**I do not own My Babysitters A Vampire**

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked, seeing that Ethan was too deep in thought to keep up a conversation.

They were on their way to Ryellie's house for a Saturday night in.

The original plan was that the couple would double date with Benny and Ryellie- a first for all of them. It'd seemed that way since Wednesday night, after Ethan got back from his second date with Sarah. Benny could barely speak. He blamed that on his kiss with Ryellie, and its paralyzing effect.

Something had changed in the time since then. Benny swore the kiss was strictly a spur of the moment occurrence. Which made Ethan and Sarah swear that he was hiding something from them.

The fact that neither of them had seen him since, backed up that theory.

Sarah knew not to get lost in thoughts of Benny's problem, though. Not when she still hadn't heard what was bothering Ethan.

Ethan sighed. "Do you think it's possible for a vision of mine to… resurface?" Sarah pondered that question, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to answer it. Instead, she asked one of her own.

"You mean you had a… re-vision?" They laughed at the pun, but Ethan got serious again.

"I swear, I've seen it before." His eyes seemed to burn with the memory of it.

"What was this vision about?" She asked, linking her arm through his as they walked.

His smile showed itself thanks to the touch, but his tone was dark when he hesitantly gave his answer.

"Jesse, biting someone's neck."

Ethan wished he knew who the someone was, but the only face that came in clear in the vision was Jesse's.

The feeling that came over him when he first had the vision was immense sorrow. Reliving it, the feeling only intensified. Some poor soul very well could already be a vampire, and Ethan's vision was just a harsh reminder.

Sarah could see why Ethan thought he'd seen that before. Jesse was old news the both of them were tired of hearing about.

"He just doesn't know when to quit, does he?" She asked with an annoyed groan. "I thought he was gone for good."

"We'd hoped." Ethan replied as they reached Ryellie's front door.

* * *

><p>Grandma Weir's voice rang in Benny's head as he reluctantly walked around the block.<p>

"I'd hate to crash your pity party, but I think it's gone on long enough. I'm kicking you out."

"Really?" He'd asked, unable to keep from laughing. It was hard for him to take a statement like that seriously.

She had countered his contorted expression with a stern one, to show him she meant business. "I don't know what happened between you two, because you've barely spoken since. All I know is that Ryellie means a lot to you. And everything you do makes an impression on her. You got the wallflower off the wall. Imagine how _this _is affecting her. Go make it right. I miss seeing you smile."

Those words got to Benny the most. That was the reason he stood at Ryellie's front door. He knew his grandma meant well, but she didn't know the whole story. Sadly, neither did Benny.

When he went to ring the doorbell, he had a thought. One that almost made him head back toward his house. _What if they don't even let me see her again_? A flashback flooded Benny's mind.

He remembered standing in Ryellie's living room Thursday afternoon.

She'd said she had something for him, making the score-as far as gifts went-Ryellie: 3, Benny: 1. Though he knew she didn't mind. Ryellie wasn't about material things, she didn't have many of them.

Before Ryellie made it downstairs, her parents did. Her father's red hair was Benny's first clue to their identities.

Instinctively, Benny hid behind a wall when he saw them coming. Ryellie's mother looked furious, and he did not want to get in the middle of that. Her facial expression told Benny he was about to hear something that wasn't meant for his ears.

"We can't blame this on the girls, they were only teasing when they called him her boyfriend. They didn't expect anything to actually happen." Ryellie's father said, trying to keep up with his wife. She walked swiftly across the room, as if that would help her get away from her problem.

"I'm not saying we should, Noah." She replied. "We know _exactly_ who to blame this on." Her tone was like poison. Benny gulped silently.

"Ryellie finally found someone who understands her, and we're gonna keep them apart?" Noah questioned.

"It's for her own good. Besides, how can some boy who hasn't known her two weeks understand her?"

"Grace, they're not gonna forget about this." Noah argued, sounding as if he thought that was beside the point.

"They're gonna have to."

"She's our _daughter_, we're supposed to support her."

Benny peeked around the corner just in time to see Grace's eyes water as she replied. He guessed that they were angry tears.

"We _would_, if it were anyone else…"

Benny forced the memory to fade, swallowed the lump in his throat and rang Ryellie's doorbell.

* * *

><p>"Just so you know, Ethan and Sarah are downstairs and Benny's at the door." Reegan informed Ryellie as she and Rae came up the stairs, only to find Ryellie wrestling with a hairbrush in the hallway.<p>

It was impossibly tangled in her curls. She blamed that on nervousness rather than knots.

Rae swallowed a laugh. "Need some help?" She went to assist Ryellie, but was interrupted.

"If one of you could get the door, that'd be great."

Reegan didn't try to hide her laughter. "Ry, that's _your _job. You have to face Benny sometime."

"Not like this." She whined. Although she knew that wasn't what her cousin meant.

"Yeah." Rae said, in agreement with her sister. "I know you're more mad at Uncle Noah and Aunt Grace right now than you are at _us_-which I thought was impossible-but at least they're still letting you two be friends. That's enough of a risk already."

Ryellie stopped pulling on her hairbrush and looked her cousins square in the eye. She was over being angry. She sounded sad when she spoke next. "What, now you guys have something against Benny too?"

"No, not at all." Rae insisted.

"Quit stalling." Reegan ordered. "Your friends are waiting and you still have a brush in your hair."

Rae gave the brush a yank while Ryellie suppressed a scream. "There… sorry. I can't believe you gave Benny the silent treatment for two whole days. What did you do, have Grandma play messenger?"

Reegan gave her sister a weird look. "Did you just call Benny's grandma 'Grandma'?"

She found this strange, because neither of the girls called their own grandmas that.

Rae shrugged, as Ryellie made her way to the stairs. "Ry says practically everyone calls her Grandma."

At those words, Ryellie stopped and whirled around to face her cousin. "You've been reading my journal _again_?"

* * *

><p>Ryellie walked down the staircase that lead to the first floor slowly, trying to postpone the inevitable. She would have to open the door for Benny, her <em>friend<em>. Ethan and Sarah would've taken care of that for her, if they weren't so caught up in each other. _Lucky them_. She thought bitterly.

Benny's voice sounded as bitter as her thoughts did. "Why do you do that to me?"

Ryellie knew he wasn't mad at her. Her parents were frustrating the both of them. His frustration came out in his question, but she had no idea what he meant by it.

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't seen you since your parents said we couldn't date and when I show up, you're dressed like _that_. Do you _have _to rub it in?"

Ryellie laughed happily, shaking her head as she looked down at her dress. It was tie-dye, but otherwise simple. "Benny, I made this out of a burlap sack. No joke." When she said this, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. It was one her designs that pushed the envelope, and she didn't like drawing attention to it.

Benny scoffed. "And you make it work!" By then, Ryellie could tell he was teasing.

She knew he was still aggravated, though. She honestly couldn't blame him. Lowering her tone to a whisper, Ryellie said: "I hate my parents' rule just as much as you do, but at least we don't have to cut each other out of our lives completely."

"Do you always look on the bright side?" Benny asked, as he finally stepped out of the doorway and into Ryellie's house.

She gave him a beaming smile as she replied: "Since you taught me to."

They both smiled, but while Benny was looking at Ryellie, she was looking at Ethan and Sarah.

Sarah was running her fingers through Ethan's hair. Trying to calm his nerves. He had completely forgotten about the vision, and was dead-set focused on her eyes.

"Hey, can you guys quit it with the k'noodling for a second? I think Ryellie's trying to tell us something." Benny hadn't meant to rudely interrupt their moment, but it was weird to see them act like that. Telling himself that was much easier than admitting the only reason it bothered him, was he would never be allowed to act like that with Ryellie.

"Oh, sorry." Sarah said as she and Ethan turned their attention to Ryellie. "What were you gonna say?"

"Oh, you guys can go back to…k'noodling." Ryellie answered awkwardly. The word was foreign to her, and made her tongue feel ticklish. "I'll tell you the plan when Rory gets here." After a beat, she fought off the urge to point at Benny, knowing that wasn't polite. She tried to make her tone sound stern but sweet when she spoke next, in a sharp whisper. "Don't make that face!"

Benny's jaw dropped. "You're not even _looking _at me, how did you know I made a face?"

Ryellie sounded just as confused as he had when she answered, under a laugh. "Well, for one you just told me. And two, I said 'Rory'."

The doorbell rang loud over a chorus of laughs. The others weren't surprised to hear the sound echo throughout the entire house. "Speak of the devil." Benny mumbled.

"Pun." Ryellie pointed out, under a laugh, not understanding why she had to let Benny know she was always listening. It was painful to realize that-because of her parents' rule-that would never matter as much as they both wanted it to.

The second Rory was inside, Reegan and Rae bolted down the stairs. They paused. This was the first time they had really seen Ethan and Rory up close.

"Is there some sexy geek store where you get all your friends?" Rae inquired curiously, making all the boys' faces flush.

Ryellie eyed her cousin as if she thought that question was absolutely ridiculous. Her tone reflected that quite well when she replied. "No… my friends are priceless."

She blushed in reaction to the collective 'Aw' she got in response.

"Tell them what we're playing!" Reegan told her cousin, inviting herself to play along as she gave everyone a flashlight.

While her friends looked at each other, Ryellie shook her head. "I will not _tell _them what we're playing, I'll _ask _if they would like to play." She told Reegan, thinking that was the nice way to go about it. Although, she couldn't help how eager she sounded when she did.

"Now that we have a big house, we're really excited to play the first game that came to our minds when we saw it. Can you say 'Sardines'?"

"Sardines?" Her friends chorused, along with disgusted expressions.

"Not the food." Reegan clarified. "Although, that's where the game gets its name."

"So, how do you play?" Ethan asked. Everyone seemed eager to learn. Ryellie was usually so sheltered, and it was rare for them to see her open up about something, even if it was just a game.

"It's like Hide & Seek, only backwards." Ryellie explained. "Basically, one person hides, then everyone else looks for them. The first person to find them hides with them. It goes on like that until the last person finds the group. And the first one who found the 'hider', hides next."

The first person to respond to Ryellie's explanation was Benny, with a tiny fit of laughter. "Really, the first thing that came to your mind was to play Hide & Seek-"

"Backwards." Reegan cut in, while Ryellie bit her tongue.

She had a feeling that Benny would be the first of her friends to make her cry, but that was because they were so close. She took everything he said to heart.

"Where have you _been _all my life?"

Which is exactly what made hearing that statement all the more worth it to her.

She didn't take his question seriously though, thinking it would take too long to name the seven other places she'd lived, and deal with everyone else's reaction.

"Well, I guess we've got Benny's vote." Rae said happily. "Who else is up for Sardines?"

Everyone seemed excited to play, considering they all answered at once.

The doorbell rang for the fourth time that night.

"Did you guys order pizza?" Benny asked. It was his automatic reaction.

"Ooh, another potential player." Rae said cheerfully, making her sister scoff.

"Doubt it. Who else do we know?" Reegan asked while group made there way to the door, too curious to stay seated.

Rory knew the answer to that question, which is why he got to the door first.

He expected to see Erica, but no one was there. The others couldn't help but laugh. "Ironically, this is how you play the other version of Sardines. We should look for a group of people lying down in our driveway." Ryellie joked.

"Well, that was mean." Rae remarked.

"Not to mention a total waste of time." Reegan added, going to close the door.

Rory, with a look of something more than disappointment-and more like heartbreak-was her roadblock. "Dude, move." She ordered. He gave the outside world one last look, and backed away.

* * *

><p>"Why does Ryellie get to hide first?" Reegan whined. Benny gave her a look in the darkness. (It wasn't a rule that Sardines had to be played in the dark, they just found it more fun that way.)<p>

"Because it's her house."

"It's our house too!" She argued, making Rae nod in agreement. "Besides, she's terrible at hiding. " Reegan added sourly.

"What number are we up to?" Sarah asked, making everyone realized they'd lost count.

"One hundred." Benny decided, turning on his flashlight and walking to find Ryellie, clearly annoyed with her cousins.

Ethan looked at his girlfriend. "Well, I guess that means we're splitting-"

Rory ran past the others at vampiric speed. "up." Ethan finished lamely, pouting just slightly.

Sarah shrugged in replying, knowing what he was thinking. "_We _don't have to." Sharing a smile, the couple walked off hand-in-hand.

Reegan scoffed, and glared after them. "Aw, how sweet is _that_?"

Rae sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be mad just because they're happy and-"

"It's not fair." Reegan said. "I can't believe Uncle Noah and Aunt Grace-"

"Are doing what they have to?" Rae interrupted.

That was an extreme rarity, and it stunned Reegan silent as they started their search.

* * *

><p>"What's taking everyone so long? I'm just being impatient, aren't I? Why am I talking to myself?"<p>

Ryellie pondered her last question. She came up with an answer, but it sounded crazy. Especially out loud.

"That's a dumb question. I know exactly why I'm talking to myself. No one's here and I need to vent. I think I'm in love with Benny."

"Are you serious?"

The question hung in the air. If anyone else had asked, Ryellie would have answered right away, but not easily. Part of her hoped that if she kept quiet, Benny would think he was hearing things. The other reason Ryellie stayed silent was her throbbing head.

Benny had heard her hit her head on the frame of the bed she was hiding under. As loud and clear as he'd heard everything else. He crawled under to see if Ryellie was alright, and hide along with her.

Physically, she seemed fine, other than the fact that her face was noticeably paler, from shock. Benny hadn't thought that possible. "Wow, it's pretty spacious under here. But I don't think six of us are gonna be able to hide here without being blatantly obvious." He was whispering when he talked, the way she thought she should have. Ryellie thought he'd drop the question, but Benny only asked again. "So, are you serious?"

"Seriously embarrassed." She responded with a sigh. He blinked, wondering if Ryellie would give him a straight answer. "Yes." Hesitantly, she added: "But it's not like we can do anything about it."

Benny shrugged. "We could break the rules."

Ryellie smiled, but she didn't sound like she was smiling when she spoke. "No." Benny was visibly hurt, and she rushed to rephrase herself. "I hate that we can't be together, but my parents wouldn't do this unless they had a good reason."

Benny couldn't help but think the only reason Ryellie said that was because she hadn't heard her parents talking about him. "They have a reason, alright." He told her. "They just don't like me."

Ryellie dismissed that immediately. "How could anyone not like _you_?" Benny couldn't help but smile then, but they got quiet after that.

Ryellie was alone with her thoughts that she wouldn't dare voice.

She thought back to lilacs, the clover and the kiss. Dinner, dancing and spells. Like the one Benny put her under. Over and over, day after day.

"First love." She stated, making him look at her.

Every time Ryellie said the word, it made Benny's mind go blank. So, he replied with a curious "Hmm?"

"It's what lilacs mean." She explained. He gave a happy nod of understanding as her mouth snapped shut like a steel trap. She was tired of hearing herself talk, thinking she'd said too much already.

Benny listened out for footsteps, wondering when someone was going to find them. He could hear sounds, but they were faint. He guessed that everyone was looking on the wrong floor, and thought it was smart of Ryellie to hide on the second.

Benny turned back to her when he realized her eyes were still on him.

The second he did, her hands were cupping his face and she was kissing him senseless.

He never knew it was possible to cram so much fervor and, regarding the rule, fury into-roughly-four seconds.

Ryellie didn't look like she regretted what she did. She just looked lost. "I don't know what that was." She told Benny, still stunned by her own actions.

He couldn't be mad at her as he replied with: "I know what it was. A_wesome_."

As they laughed, a familiar face came into view. Sarah smiled at the two of them, although she had no idea what had just gone on. "The bad news is, I lost Ethan. The good news is, I found you guys." She crawled underneath the bed beside them. "So, what's up?"

While exchanging a glance with Benny, Ryellie thought up something to say. Something she forgot to mention. "I'm getting my braces taken off Monday."

It wasn't a lie, and it saved her cheeks the burning.

* * *

><p>"When I find Ryellie, we should ask her to design clothes for the store. We'd make so much more money if the outfits were originals." Reegan told her sister, as they entered the library on the second floor with Ethan.<p>

His eyes bulged over the enormousness of it. Shelves upon shelves of books and music, a regular geek's paradise.

Rae shook her head. "Bad idea."

Reegan's heel clicked when she stamped her foot of the hardwood floor. "Name one reason." She challenged.

"I can name two." Rae told her, basically giving herself an odd look when she realized she'd held up three fingers. She quickly corrected her mistake while Reegan and Ethan laughed. "One, we don't run the store, and we're in this business for love, not money. Two, we're not gonna exploit our little cousin's talents."

Reegan laughed that off. "We're not exploiting her, we're _employing _her. There's a big difference. Besides, she could use a job. And a distraction from Benny."

"Where's the logic in that?" Rae asked. "Obviously, the more we try to get her mind off of Benny, the more she's gonna think about Benny. Do we really wanna put her through that torture? Especially when she's still mad at us?"

At this point, Ethan was sure he could slip past them without being noticed, if not for them blocking his path.

"What do you think, Ethan?" Or that question from Reegan. She really had no guilt in putting him on the spot.

"Uh…" That was the only word he could get out before he was interrupted.

"Of course you're gonna take my side, right?" Rae asked. "I'm the trustworthy one. This is my natural hair color." She said, playing with a light brown strand.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ethan asked, beyond confused.

"Yeah!" Reegan agreed defensively. "I only dyed my hair because people could never tell us apart."

Rae scoffed. "Sure they could, I'm the nice one."

"Can we just get back to finding Ryellie?" Ethan asked, hoping he wasn't risking losing a limb when he said that.

"Ethan's right." Reegan decided. "We can finish our argument later." With that, both twins walked out of the library. Ethan sighed with relief.

"Thank God."

* * *

><p>Benny and Sarah had their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing, and risk being found. Sound really traveled in Ryellie's house. She rolled her eyes playfully and whispered softly: "They're closer to us, and I guarantee Rory's gonna find us before they do."<p>

Benny swallowed his laughter and spoke at Ryellie's volume. "Speaking of Rory, where is he?"

"My guess is the roof." Sarah answered, looking at Ryellie. "That's where you guys met, isn't it?"

* * *

><p>"Took you long enough, but you found me..."<p>

**Thanks for reading, PLEASE REVIEW! I've already started typing up chapter 6 and I'll update ASAP! =]**


	6. Clues & Consequences Of Cupid's Rampage

**Here's chapter 6, THANK YOU to everyone who read, reviewed favorited and all that good stuff!**

**I do not own My Babysitter's A Vampire. Or Sharpie. Or Post-Its**

Rory turned to find himself face-to-face with Erica. He couldn't figure out if she meant her statement to be harsh or sweet, her tone was an odd mixture of both.

"I didn't even know you were playing, but I don't think Ryellie'll be mad you took her turn." As Rory spoke, no smile graced his lips.

Erica was almost too dazed to answer. Much like his statement, that just didn't make sense. "Are you okay?"

He blinked deliberately, but answered soon enough. "Yeah, but Ryellie's obviously not hiding up here, so I gotta get back to the game." His statement was blunt.

Erica's tone turned annoyed, to hide the hurt. "You would rather play _Hide & Seek _than spend time with me?" Rory didn't hear that as an invitation. All he heard was anger.

He surprised himself when he finally replied, after what was basically a stare-down with Erica.

"It's Sardines." He corrected. "And, I guess… this makes us even."

He turned his back on her to fly off the roof, when she called out to him.

"Rory, wait." He only looked at her, not bothering to turned back around and face her.

Erica reached for her pocket and took out something that barely fit inside. A rubber frog with a frilly cuff around its neck. With the one-word warning of "Catch.", she tossed it to him.

It was as if she was throwing all his affections back in his face. As payback for him blowing her off.

Rory caught the frog with barely any effort. "Thanks." He said, emotionless. With that, he was gone. Back to playing.

Erica stood frozen for a second. Then, she opened her mouth to scream in frustration. Except, no sound came out. Her eyes burned like fire, from the tears she held back.

* * *

><p>"You were right." Benny told Ryellie, as he shielded his eyes. Rory shined his flashlight directly in his face. He wished he could give the vampire a taste of his own medicine, but that would just be cruel.<p>

"Of course, I'm a girl." She whispered back teasingly. The sound of Sarah's chuckles drowned out Benny's growl of pretend annoyance. Rory crawled under the bed to join the others in hiding, silently.

He ignored the questioning looks thrown his way, while the others wondered what supernatural creature got his tongue. They also couldn't help but think who to blame for wiping the smile from his face. Rory seemed to read their minds, and made half a grin appear in attempt to calm their nerves.

"Phst! Ry!" Reegan called out quietly from the doorway. "You in here? I need to ask you something." Although she couldn't tell, Rae rolled her eyes in reaction.

"Such a cheater." She accused, earning herself a pitiful whine in reply. "Do you see what I have to suffer through on a daily basis, Ethan?" Rae asked him.

"Yeah, I see." He answered, with a vigorous nod. Unintentionally, he added: "I get a double dose."

Rae's gasp and Reegan's scoff were drowned out by a chorus of howling laughter. Since they gave up their spot, Ryellie, Benny, Sarah and Rory crawled out and stood up. A satisfied smile spread across Benny's face. "My turn." He declared.

* * *

><p>"So, is that a 'yes'?" Reegan asked enthusiastically, once Ryellie was found and the group was counting for Benny. She was still stuck on the subject of Ryellie designing clothes for their store.<p>

"Or a 'no'?" Rae practically pleaded.

"It's a 'maybe'. Ryellie told them, sounding unsure of even that.

The group was counting in the twins' room. No one counted out loud, because of all the confusion it could cause. Ethan wasn't counting at all.

With the lights turned on, he discovered that Reegan and Rae's bunk bed was writable, covered in material for dry erase boards.

In black marker, he wrote his name and half an ampersand. Capping the one tip of the marker, he flipped it upside-down between his fingers and uncapped the red tip. He passed the marker off to Sarah, who-to his relief, and joy-beamed. She finished the ampersand off and-only when she was finished writing her own name-noticed something.

The sound that came out of her mouth when the realization hit her was a mixture of a happy laugh and a horrified gasp. "Ethan, this marker's permanent."

At those words, he grinned from ear to ear. "I know."

* * *

><p>Sarah moved her flashlight around. She was on the first floor, in a room that belonged to some of Ryellie's grandparents, searching for Benny.<p>

He wasn't anywhere out in the open, and she doubted he would try the spot under the bed after Ryellie. A place so surprisingly spacious got cramped quite quickly.

Sarah's doubts were proven right. Same went for the room across the hall. Except, she did find something. Something that made her stop short and do a double take. Sarah carefully placed it in her pocket, and moved onto the kitchen.

Simon's Kitchen, according to the sign hanging in the doorway. The place was a chef's dream come true. Filled with cooking tools she couldn't even name. Something she'd call a modernized classic. Sarah could almost smell the food and-after failing to find him-she wondered why Benny _wouldn't _want to hide in there.

Sarah stepped into the dining room, waving the flashlight again. There was one long table in the dead center of the room, with eleven chairs surrounding it. What really caught her eye was the china closet. It was elegant-like everything else in the room-and almost enchanting.

She walked closer and took a look at all the fancy plates. Something stood out among them. A figurine, painted silver. More specifically, a bull. Sarah laughed, amazed and amused. Something else caught her eye, making her drop her flashlight.

"Benny, you scared me to death. Metaphorically speaking." Her harsh whisper was answered by a light laugh.

"Sorry." He said. "You're really good at this game."

She shrugged that off, switching off her flashlight and standing beside him. "Okay, I thought Ryellie's hiding place was ridiculous. How are all of us supposed to fit behind a china closet?"

"Be creative." Benny replied. Then, after a pause, he added: "So, have you kissed Ethan yet?" He couldn't have sounded more nonchalant. When he switched on his flashlight briefly to see her reaction, he watched Sarah's face flush furiously.

"No, don't you think he would've told you if we had?"

"You're right."

"Of course, I'm a girl." Sarah replied, earning herself a look she felt deserving of. One that said 'Don't steal Ryellie's lines'. She sighed. "We're taking things one at a time. Especially with what's going on between you and Ryellie right now. Whatever that really is-"

"Wait." Benny cut Sarah off. "So because you guys are too busy pitying us, you can't be happy?"

Sarah shook her head. "We're not pitying you. And we're ecstatic." She smiled brightly. At least, I know I am."

In that moment, a flashlight shined in their direction, catching Benny right in the eyes. He glared, squinting. "Okay, Rory. Now you're just doing that on purpose."

Rory clicked off his flashlight and stood beside his friends. He could only laugh when he told Benny: "You're like a flashlight magnet."

* * *

><p>"Do you have some sort of strange fascination with this room?"<p>

Ethan turned to see Rae watching him in the light of her flashlight, from the library doorway. Her tone was much calmer without Reegan around. He almost mistook her for someone else.

"Can you blame me? Your house… it's amazing."

"Thanks, we work really hard for that. Seriously, I don't think Simon, Lydia, Miles and Victoria know the meaning of the word 'retire'."

Ethan gave her a look, a little lost. "My grandparents." She explained. "Uh, well, my paternal grandparents and my uncle's parents. With the four of them, it just makes it easier to call them by their actual names."

Ethan nodded and turned to one of the many bookshelves. One book stood out from the rest, since the cover was facing out. It was a children's book, with vibrant colors and detailed drawings. The title didn't catch his attention, but he read underneath it did: _Written by Grace Temberlon Illustrations by Lucas Newbold._

That was enough to make him want to read the book, as Rae spoke about how her dad and aunt made a great team. Ethan was about to agree wholeheartedly, when he flipped to the dedication page. _For Reegan_.

Those words triggered something. A vision.

Reegan, her hair dye-free, stood in front of a _For Sale _sign, staring at the sticker that said '_SOLD'. _There were tears in her eyes. Guilty tears.

Rae hadn't even noticed Ethan was out. He did the best he could to hide his shocked expression, and ignore the loudest thought in his head: _She's the reason they had to move._

His head was spinning. What was he supposed to do? Confront Reegan? He figured asking questions would only bring the past back to haunt her. He couldn't do that while he still worried about his own future. So-once again-he kept quiet.

By the time Benny was found, Ethan felt he needed a second opinion. As he stood in the kitchen with the others, he knew exactly who he wanted that opinion from. The one he had to find. He just hoped he got to Sarah first. And that she had some advice.

* * *

><p>A search of the first and second floor led to nothing. The twins complained about having to go into the 'icky basement' for no reason.<p>

"What's so icky about a finished basement?" Benny asked them.

"Well, nothing really." Rae admitted. "But it's dark down there." Benny looked down at his flashlight oddly, and back up at the twins with the same exression.

He looked over at Ryellie. "I will never understand your cousins." The look she gave him in reply said 'That makes two of us'.

While the twins argued with Benny, and Ryellie questioned where Rory was, Ethan made his way to the third floor.

He checked Ryellie's room first. It was the smallest room on the floor, not counting the bathroom.

His shined the flashlight on the walls, but what first caught his attention was Ryellie's canopy bed with the patchwork quilt, and her beside table. Seemingly empty, besides the pencil holder full of colored Sharpie markers, a towering stack of Post-Its and the bottle of lilac lotion that sat atop it.

He was surprised to find that the walls were completely covered in paintings. None of them seemed to be Ryellie's own. He'd seen her drawings, and this artwork was a different style. Beautiful, nonetheless. Except, the back wall was blank, painted a soft neon orange.

"That looks suspicious." He commented to no one.

No one responded with an echoing giggle.

Ethan's eyes shifted, looking curious and confused. "Sarah?"

She answered his call with another laugh. She couldn't help it, picturing his expression.

He stepped closer to the wall and ran his hands along it, pushing slightly. Revealing Ryellie's hidden closet, and an impressed Sarah.

She looked more than impressed, actually. Her eyes lit up as if she hadn't seen him in weeks.

Behind those bright eyes was something unsettling. Ethan wasn't the only one with a secret to share. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"You tell me." Sarah replied. It was obvious to her that Ethan had seen something too. "Another vision?" She guessed.

Ethan nodded. "Of Reegan, crying. It seems like her family had to move because of something she did. Like this wasn't a change of scenery or a job transfer-"

"It was an escape." Sarah finished for him, proving that she understood. With a sigh, she added: "I wouldn't bring it up. Reegan can be harsh at the happiest of times…" Her voice trailed off.

Ethan was glad he wouldn't have to say anything, but he worried about what Sarah had found and what it would mean.

"Recognize anybody?" She asked, pulling a photograph from her jacket pocket and handing it to him.

Ethan expected more bad news, but he didn't fight the smile that appeared on his face when he processed what he was seeing. The picture was fairly old, approximately thirty years. One of the women in the picture had to be Lydia or Victoria. Maybe they were both there. All he knew is that out of the six women seated at the table in the picture, he knew one. "Grandma." He said happily, dumbfounded.

"Do you believe it?" Sarah asked, sounding equally shocked as Ethan flipped over the picture and read the cursive writing on the back. _To say it short and sweet, friends forever._

"This is crazy, wait 'til Benny sees this."

The door swung open, startling them both. Ryellie looked at them questioningly. She had obviously overheard. Ethan passed her the picture. The happy shock on her face told him she had never seen it either. Smiling brightly, she spoke in a hopeful tone. "Do you think the fact that Lydia and Victoria were friends with Grandma changes things? Maybe my parents will let Benny and I date now."

* * *

><p>Benny never heard about the conversation regarding the photograph, because he was last to find Sarah. What better hiding spot than one that was hidden already? He was glad when she was out of hiding, that meant he had an opportunity to tease her.<p>

"So?" He prompted.

Sarah blinked. "So, what?" Benny waited for her to figure that out on her own. "No, I didn't kiss Ethan." The other seekers' ears perked up, but they pretended not to listen.

"Why not, what are you so afraid of?" That question was simple, but the answer wasn't.

"_Everything_."

Benny nodded. Then he thought of something, and spoke his mind. "I dare you."

Sarah's jaw dropped. "_What_?"

"You heard what I said."

"Why are you doing this to me?" Sarah asked. She couldn't believe she was actually whining.

Benny raised his eyebrows and answered with a smile: "Because it's fun."

He was the last one out of Ryellie's room when everyone finished counting. He had to walk past her art studio to get downstairs. The French doors made the place inviting, so he couldn't resist.

Ryellie's drawings lined the walls. One wall was strictly pictures of her family. Another seemed to be dedicated to Ethan and Sarah. A third was for pictures of Rory and-to Benny's shock-Erica. Surrounding the doors were pictures of him and Ryellie. The one that stood out the most was of the kiss they'd shared, complete with tears. Benny exhaled deeply, slightly saddened, and then had a thought.

He looked up at the ceiling. "Of course." He said, spotting the lone drawing. The only picture in the entire art studio of Ryellie by herself. It was surprisingly cartoonish, straying far from Ryellie's style, almost anime. In the picture, a younger Ryellie was clutching a stuffed rabbit and staring at a burning building. He shivered, despite the fact that it was still beautiful, albeit disturbing.

No longer knowing what to do with himself, Benny moved onto the next room. He was taking his search for Ethan slowly for a reason, Sarah was supposed to get there first.

* * *

><p>Rory didn't know about Benny's plan, but he also had no idea where Ethan could be. He found himself in the twins' room for the second time. He quickly saw that Ethan wasn't in there, but he didn't leave. He knew he was being nosy, but he couldn't help his curiosity.<p>

There wasn't much to see besides the pictures that hung on the walls. Their laptop was off, and Lord of the Power Button didn't bother with it. Instead, he looked at a letter that sat next to the laptop on the desk.

It was written on special stationery, with an expansive pen. The cursive writing was bold, as if the message was urgent. It wasn't meant to be seen by Rory. He knew that, but he couldn't help himself. He read:

_Rae,_

_This letter should arrive to your house the day you do. I'll try to write as often as I can. If you don't get a letter every week, take it as a warning that something's coming. I'm sorry you had to leave me. I'm sorry your family is a moving target. Mostly, I'm sorry I'm so cynical about the whole thing. I just miss you. _

_You know that I've never been good with words, so I'll just say this: I love you with all my heart, and I'll be watching over you always._

The letter was unsigned. For a moment, Rory just stared at it, mystified. What did it all mean? He knew enough to worry. This letter seemed to be the only one. The question was, what did that mean for Rae? He wanted to find out, help her even, but he wasn't supposed to know.

* * *

><p>Sarah searched her memory for a clue on where to find Ethan. Not that she'd related her hiding spot to his memory. When she thought about it, however, a closet would've been Jane's first choice. Not that that had anything to do with her.<p>

She tried to think back to times that really defined their relationship. Sacrifices. Like when she cured him from his werewolf form, when she could've taken the cure for herself. This led her to the 'icky basement'. She'd been hiding the first time anyone searched it, so she didn't know it was finished. She didn't even have her flashlight on. As a vampire, she had to wonder why she and Rory even used them. Most of the time, they saw perfectly well in the dark.

She expected the basement to be a bunch of empty space, aside from maybe a washer machine and dryer.

Until she bumped into something. "Okay, that's a pool table."

She was answered by a light laugh, and kneeled down to find Ethan underneath said pool table. _It's not fair_. He thought, not wanting to give up his spot. He supposed it was payback though, and didn't mind Sarah being first to find him. "And that's my boyfriend."

Ethan couldn't help blushing, especially when he realized she had never called him that before.

She practically rolled underneath the pool table to lie beside him, and he had to laugh seeing that. "Hi." She said.

"Hi." He echoed, noting that her tone implied a lot more than a greeting. It was more of an opener. She had something to say.

Sarah hadn't planned on saying anything. She planned on doing exactly what she was dared to. Only, things didn't go according to plan.

"Months ago, my life was normal." She found herself saying. "And I used to think I'd trade everything to have that normalcy back. But I know that if it wasn't for_ Erica finding a rebellious streak..." _She trailed off for a second, hardly believing it herself when she thought back. But Sarah had a point to make, so she continued on. "we wouldn't be together. If I have to keep these fangs, I'm glad I get to keep you too."

Before Ethan had a chance to respond, the twins came into view. They didn't look too happy.

* * *

><p>An argument ensued when the twins found out that Sarah got to Ethan first. To appease them, the others said it could be their turn to hide next.<p>

Which only caused another argument. Even as they went off to find a hiding spot, Rae was going on about how she and her sister were two different people, and they deserved separate turns.

Sarah found them in the three-car garage soon enough, even though the girls were the quietest of the bunch. This came to everyone as a surprise, even them.

Despite how funny they thought it was, they weren't going to let Sarah have a second turn. Everyone agreed that Rory should get a chance.

What a mistake that was.

* * *

><p>"How long has it been since Rory went to hide?" Ethan asked.<p>

He was on the second floor, walking through the hallway with Benny and Sarah by his side.

Sarah took out her phone to answer his question. "Almost an hour." The three groaned in unison.

"No one's _this _good at hiding." Benny said. "He's changing spots. He has to be. _Vampire Ninja_." He mumbled.

"This makes no sense." Ryellie said, meeting up with the other three when she walked out of her cousins' room for the second time that turn. "I've searched every room at least twice, even the attic."

"Told ya." Benny said, as if that proved his point.

"Not even Sarah can find him, and she's found more people in this game than the three of us combined." Ethan told Ryellie.

This made her want to rethink her strategy. If she could find Rory first, it might mean impressing her role model.

Ryellie backtracked through her steps mentally, trying to figure out what she _hadn't_ done during her search, while the others talked. Then it hit her.

In her excitement, Ryellie ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Within what seemed like seconds, she was on a different floor, smiling up at Rory. "Have you been there this whole time?" She asked, receiving a happy nod in reply.

* * *

><p>"You're more quiet than I am." Ryellie couldn't help but say to Rory, in her astonishment. They were in their hiding spot, and it had been minutes since either of them spoke.<p>

He shrugged that off. "Aren't I supposed to be? At least, while I'm playing?"

Ryellie theorized that Rory could be just as quiet as she was all the time. He just chose not to be. Either that, or he was still upset about something.

She had never wished for silence to break. Ryellie liked the quiet. When it came to Rory, though, it was a different story. She thought that was just because she wasn't used to it. Her thoughts were interrupted when Rory's lips pressed against hers.

She practically pushed him over-which would've been painful had it not been for his quick reflexes-knowing no other way to get him to stop in her absolute shock.

"Sorry." Rory said, seeing that she was not only caught off guard, but upset. "I just wanted to see what it felt like." He wasn't defending the action, just being honest.

Ryellie was going to be honest regardless. She never lied. "I love Benny."

That was all she gave as an answer. That was all she needed to say. Rory had seen the proof, their chemistry. He couldn't deny that. He also couldn't change it. He didn't even know if he wanted to, but he had to accept that either way. So, he said "Okay." Despite his inexplicable anger.

"But I understand why you did that." That surprised Rory, because _he_ barely knew why he'd done that. He waited for Ryellie to finish her thought, curious to hear what she had to say. And glad she wasn't mad at him. "There's this void you're trying to fill. You can't help but feel lost if you didn't see where Erica threw your heart when she tore it out of you chest." Rory stared, stunned. That was quite an image, even for a vampire. "Lucky guess." Ryellie explained, not proud to be right. "What happened with you guys?"

Rory couldn't help but keep quiet then, not that he was trying. It was just difficult to explain. He didn't even know where to start, but he figured he had to.

"Well, Wednesday we kissed-"

"This Wednesday?" Ryellie asked.

"Yeah."

Her expression was past puzzled, as she shook her head. "Did Cupid go on a rampage on Wednesday?"

Rory nodded in agreement, laughing. "But he decided to play favorites and stole his arrows back from everyone but Ethan and Sarah." Ryellie had seen Rory's sadness, but that was the first she heard it in his voice.

"So, what happened after that?" She asked, wishing she knew how to cheer him up.

"We just hung out, but we had a date planned for tonight."

"_That's_ why you said you wouldn't be able to come over." Ryellie said. Then, slower and softer, she added: "Wait, Erica stood you up?" Not knowing why she was shocked.

"I think." Rory admitted lamely. "I didn't really give her a chance to explain herself."

"Did she seem like she was gonna explain herself?"

"Maybe. She seemed like she was ready to forget all about it. I guess I was just too upset to go along with that, but I'm over it now." That surprised Ryellie the most.

She wondered whether or not he was lying. "So, you broke up?" She asked.

"I think." Rory answered in the same tone as before. He really didn't know what to think. Were they even together? Rory soon realized he had bigger problems than figuring out Erica.

"You know, I tell Benny everything." Ryellie admitted.

"He's gonna _kill _me!" Rory protested.

"I'm sure he won't, if I ask nicely."

* * *

><p>Ethan, Benny and Sarah walked into the kitchen. Rather than feeling annoyed, the three others actually laughed, wondering where Rory could be.<p>

"This is ridiculous." Benny said. "The house only has twenty rooms."

"That we know of." Ethan joked. With the things he and Sarah had discovered, he figured it was a safe bet to say that. He didn't know it, but Benny understood exactly what that meant. He still had chills after seeing Ryellie's cartoon drawing.

The twins walked in, looking like they were ready to give up. "Where's Ry? It's been twenty minutes since she disappeared." They said in unison. Ethan and Benny wondered if they'd planned that, or it was just natural.

Suddenly Sarah was laughing, like Kurt "The Hurt" Lochner when tickled. The four others threw her confused looks. She couldn't see them though. She was too busy looking up, mid-laugh attack.

Ethan followed Sarah's gaze, and stuttered: "What-how did-how long have you-" By that time, Benny caught onto what the couple was seeing. The twins were the last to look up and find Rory and Ryellie, on top of the fridge.

They gave the others defiant waves and slapped high-fives. Even though Rory's skin crawled at the thought of Benny finding out what he'd done.

* * *

><p>When the game was over, the night slowed down. There wasn't much left of it-only a few hours-but Ryellie couldn't help wallowing in the memory of it. Trying to relive every moment.<p>

Even the ones that weren't so memorable. Like the way Benny reacted when she told him Rory kissed her. She didn't expect the two of them to be talking to each other for awhile, and hated that thought even more knowing she was the cause of the fighting.

For a moment, she hated Erica for being the reason behind the kiss itself. She knew there were a lot of moments when Ryellie felt like she hated Erica, but this one topped them all. Not only was she messing with Rory's heart, but-indirectly-Benny's too.

On top of that, Ethan and Sarah seemed to be on a guilt trip, afraid to be a couple.

Days ago, everything seemed oddly perfect. Maybe that should've been a sign. Thinking about how it all changed so fast-how every aspect of her life was different-Ryellie felt that void Rory had.

She had just gotten used to living in an extraordinary town, making friends that seemed to come in small crowds, and-most surprisingly-finding somebody to call her own. It was the last thing she expected, and all that she wanted.

Ryellie knew all too well she couldn't have everything. _Two out of three ain't bad_. She reminded herself, tilting her head up toward the stars that seemed to have lost their shine. She knew the reason behind that. The 'three' out of three was Benny, for her boyfriend. So, the way Ryellie saw it, two out of three was way past bad.

_Two out of three royally sucks._

That night, only two of the group slept soundly. Sarah had sweet dreams of Ethan, and he had sweet dreams of her.

Fighting waterfalls of tears, Ryellie looked up at the sky.

Benny stared blankly at his bedroom ceiling, not daring to blink while a frown made its home on his face.

Rory watched his window for any sign of Erica, wishing she would fly up to it, ready with an apology he knew he wouldn't get the chance to give that night.

Erica leered at some nameless face she honestly couldn't care less about…

**Thanks for reading PLEASE REVIEW! Favorite part? Anything from this chapter you want me to expand on? Any ideas? I'm planning for a lot of surprises for the next chapter, I'll update ASAP! =]**


	7. Another Piece To The Puzzle

**Here's the next chapter. It's long because I don't know how often I'll be able to upload with school. Thanks to all me readers, reviewers, favoriters, idea givers, and all-that-good-stuffers.**

**This chapter is dedicated to RascalKat. Please go read ImPulse, AMAZINGLY EPIC AWESOMENESS!**

**I do not own My Babysitter's A Vampire**

Long day, tomorrow. Why are you up so late?"

Ryellie's first instinct was to run. She knew that was a bad idea, being that she was on the roof. Still, she needed to get away. A stranger spoke those words, in a hungry tone.

* * *

><p>Ryellie woke up with a start. He nightmare had consumed her, with such vivid images. Those icy blue eyes. Those sharp fangs. She brushed it off, putting her shaking head in her hand. Wishing away the memory that was nothing but a pain in the neck. She laughed at her own joke.<p>

"It's okay." She told herself. "I'm just a little stressed out. Long day ahead of me." Almost an echo of those same chilling words. The words she never really heard. "Talking to myself again." She complained, laughing lightly as she got up.

Ryellie walked over to her closet mirror and looked at herself. She didn't seem different. She was still there. That proved she had been dreaming.

There was a knock at the door. Grace peered in. "Ryellie Katice, are you almost ready to go? I took a personal day from work just for this." She told her, laughing.

"Yeah, I'll be right there. And Mom, you work at _home_." Ryellie reminded her.

"That's the joke, darling. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm great." Ryellie replied, with a bright smile her mother couldn't see from the doorway. Grace still stood there, holding onto the doorknob. "What's up?" Ryellie asked, turning into the concerned one.

Grace's tone was casual, which was practically a miracle. "I was thinking, after we go get your braces taken off, do you want to go into school… or do something else?"

That was a strange question. Ryellie thought _that _was the joke. Or a bribe for her understanding since the rule had been made. Usually, whenever Ryellie had something not related to school planned for part of a weekday, going back to school afterwards was the one and only option. Now that there was another choice-all was up to her-she thought she'd jump at that chance.

She thought wrong.

"No thanks." The words came out automatically. "I can't wait to go into school and smile at Benny."

She turned her head to see her mother cross her arms. Although there wasn't an ounce of anger in Grace's eyes, Ryellie made an effort to add: "And Ethan, Sarah and Rory. And Erica." Grace smiled slightly. She was surprised to hear Ryellie name what she considered to be so many people, even though she'd already heard about them. When it came to Ryellie, five was a lot of friends. Five friends was an all-time record. "Mom? There is actually _one or two _places I'd like to go." She said, surprising herself. "And, can I have your opinion on a new dress?"

Grace walked into her daughter's closet, to see what she was talking about.

* * *

><p>"You should've been there, Erica." Sarah said as she walked the hallway with her best friend. She couldn't stop talking about Ryellie's house, and Sardines. "I mean, I know it's just a game, but it was so much fun." She went on, not noticing Erica was barely listening. "And, as Rory would say, I was <em>on fire<em>!"

Erica literally winced at the mention of Rory's name.

"Something wrong?" Sarah asked. Then, in a mocking tone, she added: "Am I being too geeky for you?" She was forced to stop short when Erica stopped walking.

Her tone was slightly shaky, but otherwise empty. "Rory and I broke up Saturday night."

"You and Rory were goin' out?" Sarah asked, with raised eyebrows.

Erica answered in a whisper, sounding fed up because frankly, she was. With what, she couldn't quite say, but she did say this: "Sort of. Believe it or not-emphasis on 'not' because even I don't believe it-_I _asked _him _out after we kissed Wednesday-"

"_Kissed_? Wednesday? This past Wednesday?" Sarah couldn't help but interrupt, barely able to manage full sentences in her surprise. Seeing that Erica's expression was somewhere between angry and sad, she said: "Sorry, go on."

"He thinks I stood him up."

"Did you?" Sarah asked. That surprised her as well. Erica was tough, not heartless.

"Yes." With that word, Erica seemed to reach her breaking point. Sarah saw that she was close to tears. "But what was I _supposed_ to do? I couldn't exactly help that I was being chased by some savage vampire hunter at the time." As Erica spoke, in a fearful and forlorn tone, it was like she was reliving the memory.

Sarah could barely manage a "_What_?" in response.

"Don't worry," Erica told her, her tone toughening. "_I won_. That guy's been targeting me for nearly two weeks, it's about time I did something about it."

It was about time she talked about it, too. Sarah hadn't heard a word about it, but that's not what bothered her. "Are you okay?" She asked, with her heart in her throat, holding onto Erica's shoulders as if she'd float away otherwise. She turned her head when she noticed Erica looking past her.

The boys were at Ethan's locker. Erica's focus was on Rory and his pleading eyes, which Benny ignored, while Ethan heaved an inaudible sigh. "_Fine_." Erica answered finally, walking off briskly.

She only made it to the end of the hallway unnoticed. Until she saw another face she knew. If it wasn't for her vision being blurred by a buildup of tears, Erica might have noticed a change. She practically spat when she spoke. "What do _you _want?"

In answer, all Erica got was a much needed hug.

* * *

><p>Benny spent his break in the library alone. At first, all he did was laugh silently over the irony that on his first day back to school, Ryellie was absent. He tried reading, but nothing kept his attention. He found himself looking at the words in the book, but not absorbing them. He stood the book up on its own, so he had to question why-after some time-it started falling down slowly. Upon seeing the cause, his jaw dropped.<p>

"Hi, Benny." Ryellie greeted, giving him a toothy, brace-free smile. That wasn't the only thing different about her. She gave her straightened hair an innocent flip, trying to get it out of her eyes. Which revealed the single sparkly silver streak running through it. The streak that matched her headband, eye shadow, and the tiny industrial bar in her right ear.

Her red dress was flowing, with a bubbly bottom and ribbon-like sleeves that wrapped around her arms. Not that Benny could see from where he was sitting, but she wore matching wedges with zigzagging straps that went up to her knees.

_Now, this is just torture_. Benny thought. Only, what he said out loud was: "What happened to you?" Slowly, in absolute disbelief. He didn't mean it negatively.

"I don't know." Ryellie answered, just as baffled. Her face was red as she talked with her hands.

Benny took a closer look as she did this, and his eyes widened. "No, really. What _happened _to you?" He asked in a distressed tone, springing up reaching out to flip over her wrist. Bringing the bruise on it to her attention.

"I don't know." Ryellie repeated, much more fearful the second time around.

She didn't want to worry Benny though, so she added: "But I bruise easily." She didn't feel like she was in pain.

"In two places?" He turned his attention to her shoulder, where another bruise was. Worry washed over him, and he asked the first question that came to his mind, given where they lived. "Did you happen to see your reflection in the mirror this morning? _All there_?"

Ryellie didn't have to think about it. "Yeah. You think I'm a vampire?" She asked in her softest audible whisper. She thought back to her nightmare. It'd seemed so real, but it couldn't be. She didn't know why she was even considering the theory. Vampirism isn't something she would ever ask for. Still, she kept up the conversation. "Based on what?"

"The, uh, makeover." Benny answered, unable to look away from the bruises. "And I use that term real loosely. You look as great as always, it's just… different." He was amazed he made it through that sentence, he was so frazzled.

Ryellie rolled her eyes angrily, which shocked Benny to the core. Almost as much as her venomous tone. "I don't have 'Erica Syndrome'. Clothes don't make a person. I'll go home and change if it bothers you that much."

Despite his surprise, Benny kept talking, hoping Ryellie would listen better. "I didn't say it was a bad thing, and your clothes aren't the problem."

"Then what _is _the problem?" The words hurt, they were so sharp.

"What's _yours_?" Benny couldn't help but ask. He tried to snatch the words right back. Even if Ryellie upset him, he didn't want to upset her any further. Especially when he didn't know what he did wrong to begin with. He gave her an honest "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry." Ryellie replied, sounding like herself again. She looked angry at herself, and the unexplainable outburst. Their eyes locked. "I'm just _starving_, and I don't know how to handle it because that never happens. Especially in my house, there's always food on the table." While he wallowed in worry all over again, she asked: "Did we just have our first fight?"

Benny couldn't help but blush. "I think so." She shook her head, her mind back on the rule. He understood exactly what she was thinking. He had the same thought. Only, another thought was louder.

Benny sighed. "If you want me to quit worrying," He lowered his tone to a whisper and finished with: "check your neck. Then, I'll try to summon some lunch for ya."

With a laugh, Ryellie complied. She brought a slightly shaking hand to her neck, afraid of what she might find. Benny watched like a hawk.

Ryellie's eyes glazed over for a split second, and he froze with fear when she spoke. "Well, Benny, not that I ever doubted it, but it looks like Calculus isn't your only area of expertise."

* * *

><p>At the end of the school day, Benny and Ryellie stepped out into the hallway, walking as fast as they could. Their mission of the moment was to find Ethan. After that, they didn't know what they would do.<p>

She couldn't keep the pace, dazed. If the vampire attack had only been a dream, that meant she was living a nightmare.

"Not to rush you or anything Ryellie, but we're kinda in a hurry here and this is a hallway not a runway." The last part of Benny's sentence was meant for other students, who were staring at Ryellie as if she were a model.

Her apology was drowned out by whistling. "Who's the hot chick?" Asked a voice that haunted the both of them. Though 'annoyed' was really the proper term. The two turned around sharply to send a glare his way. After what the boy had said to Ryellie the last time he spoke, he deserved more than that. "_Freckly girl_?" He asked. Ryellie had to admit that 'freckly girl' was much easier to say than her actual name. She and Benny tried to tune the boy out, but he was difficult to ignore. They didn't notice he talked as if he didn't mean a single word. "Did puberty hit you like a freight train?"

"This fist still works." Benny informed the boy, trying to get him off their backs.

"I ain't lookin' for trouble." He replied, scoffing. Though he sounded nervous and hesitant. "I'm the good one." Benny and Ryellie narrowed their eyes, ready to ask for explanation. They didn't get the chance.

What happened was they found out just how fast word spread around Whitechapel High School.

"Hey, Weir, can I date your ex?" A senior boy asked.

"_WHAT? NO!_" They barked in unison, sending each other smiles right after.

"Then can I?" Another questioned. The comments continued, but Benny and Ryellie didn't have time for the nonsense.

"E!" Benny called out, having no other way to reach Ethan with the crowd that surrounded them. They apparently had no time for syllables either. Ethan rushed over-Sarah by his side-sensing the urgency.

Benny didn't wait for questions after the four friends pushed through the chatty crowd, making it disperse. "Ryellie's a vampire." He whispered sharply. He didn't get an answer. Not from speechless Ethan, caught in the middle of a vision come true.

"What do you wanna do?" Sarah asked Ryellie softly. She remembered contemplating not coming back after becoming a full-fledged vampire, how heartbreaking the whole experience had been for her.

Ryellie tried not look as stressed as she felt, seeing how her friends were there to support her. Her answer still came out sounding like a plea. "Just take me home."

* * *

><p>"She's acting as if nothing happened." Ethan said to Sarah. The two were seated on Ryellie's living room couch, their arms around each other's shoulders.<p>

"That's how she deals." Sarah sympathized. "Everyone has their own way. Besides, she's in shock and it's only day one."

Ethan nodded. "Sorry if this is difficult for you." He told her, not knowing how else to phrase it.

"No, it's fine." Sarah replied honestly. "Ryellie's always had this empathy for me. Now it's just stronger."

Upstairs, Benny stood outside Ryellie's door, checking up on her. What seemed like a second ago, she was all smiles. Then, she disappeared. "How're you holding up in there?"

She answered very hesitantly. "I'm alright." The slow response time did nothing to hide the quiver on her voice.

"Are you crying?" Benny's tone implied that he already knew the answer. He waited for it anyway.

She wasn't going to lie to him. "…Yeah."

The door flew open.

Benny sat on the edge of her bed. He wasn't sure how to comfort her, despite the fact that they were so close. He'd never seen her cry so much. Dead silent, tears falling like a rainstorm. She didn't look like she wanted a hug. No matter how much she needed it.

"I'm sorry." She told him, drying her eyes and sitting up.

"For what?" He asked, perplexed. Ryellie didn't need to apologize for anything.

"Letting you see me cry like this." She replied. But she didn't stop there. "Getting bitten. Saying I was in love with you when we both know the rule." Benny was already shaking his head-telling her it was okay-when Ryellie let something slip. "Standing at your doorstep." Benny's breath left him, while Ryellie went on, too angry at herself to stop. "Not fighting my own battles."

"Don't say that." The words were somewhere between an order and a plea. Benny couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You really think all of this was a mistake?"

"No. I love my life the way it is, just… not at the moment."

"That's allowed, you know." He told her, almost sarcastically.

Ryellie nodded, taking a deep breath. "I'm just scared." She admitted. "I'm sure Reegan's told you I'm afraid of my own shadow. But I don't want you to ever think that you don't make me feel brave because no one does a better job of that than you do. I just worry I won't be able to handle this on top of everything else. Even with you. I've been fighting myself since I got here."

"There's the problem." Benny answered. "You have to stop beating yourself up." She didn't respond, but she knew he was right.

Worn out, she lied back down. He comically followed her lead. It was more of a flop. Only their heads touched.

It got quiet after that. They stared up at the top of the canopy. Randomly, Benny laughed. Ryellie looked at him, confused. He explained himself. "Your first day, all I expected was a boring lesson and an average school day. Then the universe throws you at me at warp speed." She smiled as he went on, surprising her with what he said next. "And I was _terrified_." He thought for a second, and added: "I'm still terrified. Still confused. Still happy."

She sat up a second time, a look of sheer amazement in her eyes. A look that said she felt the same way. He smiled at her, sitting up as well when she spoke. "What were we worried about, again?"

* * *

><p>Benny and Ryellie walked down the stairs together. She felt calm, confident and content with him by her side. "Ethan, Sarah, do you wanna hear the plan?" She asked the couple, who exchanged glances.<p>

"What plan?" Ethan asked.

"We both thought it up, and it goes something like this:" Benny began, pointing to Ryellie, passing her the metaphorical microphone.

She cleared her throat as if what she was about to say had been rehearsed. She spoke in the kindest tone she could manage. "Hey, Mom, Hey, Dad. We just wanna tell you we're gonna date no matter what you say, and by the way, I'm a vampire."

The group burst out laughing. A bad idea made a great joke for some reason. Sarah was only shocked by the second part of it. "She's already joking about it." She told Ethan with a smile, admiring Ryellie's courage.

Ethan's expression mirrored his girlfriend's when he quietly asked her: "What were we worried about, again?" Thanks to Ryellie's vampiric sense of hearing, she got a laugh out of that.

"In case anyone was asking my opinion, the idea is daring, but it needs work."

"That's code for 'don't do it, your mother will have a heart attack.'"

The group turned their attention to the men in the doorway. Opposite in every way, except for their dark hair, that had begun to gray.

"Hi, Simon, Hi Miles." Ryellie greeted. She didn't mind that they overheard the conversion. Even though Miles was terrible at keeping secrets, Simon would keep him in check.

"You've all had a bit of a rough day, haven't you?" Simon asked, his brown eyes sparkling with empathy toward his granddaughter.

"This is where the kids would say 'duh'." Miles supplied.

With an eye roll, Simon laughed. "Well, let's not dwell on that. The day's not even half way over."

"Who's hungry?" Miles asked, proving that he was as he marched off to the kitchen.

"What've I told you about hats in my kitchen?" Simon asked sternly, following right behind.

"Chefs wear hats in the kitchen, I don't see why I can't." Miles reasoned.

"Because after you cook, you eat. And it's disrespectful to wear hats at the table." They continued on with their argument while Ryellie's friends stared after them.

"They're like old, male version of you cousins." Ethan told her.

"Don't I know it." She said, leading the others into the kitchen behind her grandfathers, who had stopped bickering abruptly.

"Well, there's one thing we'll agree on." Miles pointed a stubby finger, and the kids looked in the direction his crystal blue eyes were focused on. In the window, the group could see Grandma Weir, Lydia and Victoria. They were talking and laughing like they never left each other.

"After all this time, they're reconnecting." Simon said. "That is a beautiful thing."

Miles nodded, while Benny and Ryellie just stared. It was almost too good to be true. They looked at each other, to gauge their apparent shock. Automatically, their expressions turned from happy to loving. "As is that." Miles commented.

They snapped themselves out of it. The moment was over.

* * *

><p>Ryellie knocked on the door to the office, after her friends had gone home.<p>

She smiled when she heard: "Come in, Ry." Her father knew her knock. Ryellie mimicked her mother's stance as she stood in the doorway, her hand on the doorway. Noah looked up from his paperwork, hiding on sigh. By the look on his face, it was obvious he knew the question that was coming. Regardless, he said: "What's up?"

Ryellie wanted to ask him the same question, seeing that he was all dressed up. Instead, she got right to the point. "I don't wanna bother you, but this is bothering _me_, so… is there any _reason_ why Benny and I can't date?" She never thought she'd ask that question, but it was impossible to drop her feelings. She had to do something about it.

After much hesitation, Noah answered the best way he knew how. "It's just easier to say it's complicated, sweetheart." Then-surprising himself-he admitted: "I think Benny's a nice guy, based on what you told me."

Ryellie blinked. "Then I don't get it. Is it just that mom doesn't like him for some reason?" That barely sounded like a question. It sounded like Ryellie was coming to her own conclusions.

Her father met her eyes. Silence fell. Ryellie prepared to get yelled at, but when her father finally spoke, his tone was soft yet dark.

"This isn't about Benny."

At that moment, Grace appeared behind her shocked daughter. She knew nothing of the conversation. Ryellie turned slowly, to see her mother in a dress and her hair in a beautiful updo, courtesy of Victoria. "C'mon, dear." Grace said to Noah. Then, while sending her daughter a smile, she added: "We don't wanna be late for our date with the Morgans."

* * *

><p>"I'm more than a little confused with everything that's going on right now, but I'm glad my parents are going on dates again." Ryellie said. Ethan had invited her over, since Sarah had to babysit Jane and Benny being there was a given.<p>

"And with Ethan's parents." Benny added, astonished. All these connections were amazing to the group. Even though the date was a good thing, Ryellie was sad that anything had to interrupt her father's explanation. _Oh, well_. She thought. _We'll have later to talk_.

"Where did Ethan _go_, anyway?" Sarah asked. He seemed to have just wandered off while the others were talking, but he had a right to. Everyone was acting a little off.

Benny and Ryellie gave a synchronized shrug in reply, but Jane said: "He's in the kitchen."

With a nod, Sarah went off to find him. When she did, he was holding an empty glass. As she came through the doorway, he greeted her with a warm smile.

She started talking, but he didn't hear a word. He didn't even hear the house phone ring. He was too busy thinking about something. Something he hadn't thought about before. Ryellie's dress seemed strangely familiar to him.

Sarah gasped at the sound of glass shattering.

"Ethan?" Sarah said, sounding as panicked as he looked. With the expression he wore, she thought what came out of his mouth would'v been much worse.

"Oh, no." He looked at the mess he made, then grabbed a dustpan.

"Can you tell me what's going on?" She asked as he swept up the shards and disposed of them.

"I'm being paranoid." He answered. Ethan looked like he had entered full freak-out mode, but Sarah knew he must have a good reason.

"Why?" She asked, following him back to the living room he practically bolted to.

"Because, forgetting about a vision doesn't stop it from happening."

When they got to the living room, they found Ryellie gone. Sarah wondered what vision she hadn't heard about, while Ethan panicked some more. "Where's Ry?" That caught everyone's attention. Only family, blood-related family, ever called her that. This was a cue to be alarmed. Only, Jane wasn't.

"Reegan called and told her to come home. She said Rae had anniversary blues."

"What does that mean?" Ethan asked, trying his best to keep calm.

"I think it means it's Rae and someone's anniversary, and she's sad about it."

"This is no time for sarcasm, Benny." Ethan didn't sound mad. He sounded as if he wished it could be a time to joke around.

"Ethan," Sarah started, trying to think of a way to get him to talk to her, since he seemed set on springing into action to save Ryellie from an unknown fate. "baby-"

The spontaneous "Whoo" from Benny didn't hide the happy shock on Ethan's face. Unfortunately, that was only on the surface. Inside, he was a trainwreck.

"Listen." Sarah went on. "You can't do this all on your own. We don't even know what you're trying to do."

"I know." Ethan replied. "Neither do I."

* * *

><p>"Run faster, Ry." At first, she froze in fear. Only halfway home, she was worried that was the opening line for a second attack she wouldn't remember in the morning. Then, she sneered, her fear dissolving.<p>

"Don't call me that." She said, wishing she could deliver a punch as powerful as Benny's. This guy deserved another one. Or maybe, she'd bite him. She just had to say something first. "We're not friends, and we're certainly not family." She couldn't help but say what she was thinking either. "...Jerkface."

He fought the temptation to roll his eyes and answered: "It's Zander, not Jerkface." It shocked her. A guy with eyes like his-gray-and a name like Zander, had made fun of her. And now his tone was surprisingly hushed and kind. "Did you not hear me when I said 'run faster'? I'm trying to protect you."

"From what?" She asked, because the only thing she wanted to get away from at that point was Zander.

On cue, a pack or snarling dogs came running at Ryellie. They stopped just before they reached her, as if to watch her flinch. She jumped, bumping into Zander, who kept her on her feet.

"Get her." A voice the seemed to come from nowhere commanded.

A voice she knew.

With that, Ryellie was forced to run in the direction the pack chased her. Away from her house.

* * *

><p>"Stay here." Ethan ordered kindly. He was suited up and carrying what he considered all the essentials, although he didn't know what he was up against.<p>

"No." Sarah objected. "I'm coming with you." She had just tucked Jane in, pretending like nothing bad was happening. She wasn't going to pretend for Ethan.

"You have a job to do." Ethan reminded her.

"Well, I'm coming with you." Benny said. He wasn't going to play pretend either.

"No, you're not." Ethan refused, racing for the door. Benny beat him to it, blocking his path.

"You're being unreasonable." He told his best friend sternly, knowing nothing of the vision. At least, nothing that had to do with the part about him. "First you tell me something's gonna happen to my-potential-girlfriend," He hated haven't to stick that word in there, but something bothered him more at the moment. "then you tell me I can't help save her?" It made no sense.

Until Benny won the stare-down against Ethan, and he submitted, providing an explanation. "Something happens to you too."

"How bad?" Benny asked, barely caring. Ryellie was his priority.

"I don't know." Ethan admitted.

"When were you gonna tell us all of this?" Sarah asked. Not angry, just concerned.

"Look, I know I messed up." Ethan told the others. "But now I have to fix it." With that, Benny moved out of the doorway. The second Ethan was gone, he defiantly followed.

Sarah didn't wait to pull out her phone and dial wildly. The line opened on the third ring, which was like torture in the crisis situation. Still, Sarah managed to keep calm as she talked. "Hi, Grandma, can you come watch Jane for me? There's something I gotta take care of."

* * *

><p>"Can't vampires heal themselves?" Zander asked, with tears in his eyes. He was standing over Ryellie. He hadn't been able to do anything to help, and now she was lying in a ditch, struggling to get up. The dogs had caught up to her and-finding the makeshift grave-left her for dead once the job was done.<p>

The damage wasn't so bad. Many of the bites hadn't even broken the skin, and she only bruised when she fell. Ryellie didn't care about the injuries, they would heal. She cared about getting home, without Zander.

"Stop being so creepy." She told him, once she had the strength to give up. He knew too much.

"Don't get up. Something could be broken. I'll call an ambulance."

"I'm _fine_." That was the last thing Ryellie needed. It scared her more than the dogs had. "but something's up, I can feel it." The look on Zander's face told her he already knew that. Which only convinced Ryellie further that he was bad news. "I have to go." She said, trying her best to use her vampiric speed. For a human, she was fast. As a vampire, given the condition she was in, she was not up to par. She could deal with that. As long as everything turned out okay.

"You've only been in this town eleven days, how do you know where you're going?" Zander called out, even knowing Ryellie was too far away to give an answer.

Ryellie would find her way. She had to.

* * *

><p>"It's almost as if you made yourselves live bait. Without any of your vampire friends too. You boys are really brave."<p>

"Who is this guy?" Benny asked Ethan, when the figure emerged from-seemingly-nowhere. Despite the fact that his shaggy black hair had streaks of blood red running through it, and he painted his nails black, neither of the boys looked intimidated.

The boy-man, they supposed-looked like he had a few years on them. Maybe five. But that didn't make him seem like a real threat. "That's not the question." He told them, with fiery blue eyes. "Question is, where's the girl?"

"Could you be a bit more specific? We know several." Benny's joke gave Ethan a shred of hope that maybe his vision was wrong. Until the older boy replied.

"Your grandma doesn't count."

"Alright, now I'm scared." Benny admitted. Ethan nodded in agreement. The person in front of them made himself seem like a stalker.

"I don't even know why I'm doing this," He told Ethan and Benny, stepping closer to them as he spoke. Then, he said something that made their toes curl. "The 'T' in Temberlon stands for trouble, and the 'N' in Newbold stands for nuisance." With that, the threat became real. To Benny, those sounded like fighting words. Fighting words he had to answer.

"Know what the 'W' in Weir stands for?"

"_Worthless_."

Benny was tackled to the ground full-force, and Ethan jumped to his aid in the struggle. Only he never reached him.

"Think before you act." Benny's attacker said. And suddenly, that's all Ethan could do. His vision-the one he was in the middle of-played over and over again in his head, as if on a continuous loop. It was all he could see as he stood frozen, helpless as Benny was.

Sarah came to their rescue, but the tables had already turned. It was as if Benny was unstoppable, with barely any effort. His opponent was close to collapsing in the grass of the backyard turned battlefield.

He suddenly turned to Sarah, and Benny let her take over in the fight. He went to check on Ethan, who had fallen to his knees, his thoughts overwhelming him.

Sarah saw every punch and kick thrown at her. She was too fast for her opponent. Even so, her friends wanted to help her. They wanted this guy to leave them alone. As soon as Ethan had his strength back, they made they way toward her. She didn't even see it coming when her foe kicked backwards instead of forward.

Benny toppled over, the wind knocked out of him.

"BENNY!" An earsplitting scream, that could only belong to one voice.

Ryellie came into view, looking just as Ethan had seen her in his vision. She rushed to Benny's side.

"Playing doctor again?" He teased, as soon as he could manage. Her laugh barely hid a sob. "I'm good." He assured her.

"Grayson, _what _are you doing here?" She barked, still kneeling beside Benny.

Benny sat up, finally feeling well enough to do so. "You know him." It wasn't a question, but now it was clear that what Grayson said to start the whole fight wasn't just to mess with his head.

"Yeah, she does." Reegan supplied. The others would've jumped if they weren't so on edge already. They didn't question where she came from.

"Alright, well, who is he?" Ethan asked, head still spinning.

"Short version? Crazy ex-boyfriend with a grudge." Reegan told him.

"Wow, that's original." Sarah replied, her sarcasm apparent.

"Leave us be." Reegan ordered Grayson. "C'mon, you can't win. It's five against one."

He smiled slyly. "Not anymore, its not." With that, the five snarling dogs reappeared. One by one, they transformed, back to their human selves. A collective gasp was swallowed up by the sound of Grayson's laughter, as he stepped back to watch the rest of the fight unfold. "Now, it's fair."

"No." Rae dismissed. A lot less shocking considering-usually-whevever Reegan went, her sister followed. "Now it's fair." She put up her fists, ready to fight. Grayson laughed again, turning his head to give his ex a glassy glare.

"What, did you invite everybody?" Rae answered that question for Reegan, with a sucker punch to Grayson's turned face. He hit the ground hard.

Ethan's jaw dropped, as he blocked one of the shape shifters' attacks. "Go, Rae." He practically whispered, laughing. He didn't know she had it in her.

By the look on her face, neither did Rae.

Grayson didn't retaliate when he got up. Instead, he walked up to his ex while the others kept up the fight. His lackey took that as the signal to take on Rae instead.

He sneered at the sight of Reegan's dyed hair. "You know, Reegan... I hate blondes." With that, he slapped her straight across the face. As she winced in pain, he mumbled: "One recently tried to kill me."

"I don't blame her!" Reegan answered, fighting back. With that, the battle was in full swing.

The good guys were dominating, fueled by adrenaline. Though Ryellie was quickly loosing energy, fighting on fledgling power. It was just her luck she got in a fight with the strongest of the bad bunch, excluding Grayson.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't even bare her fangs. The proof, as Rory had put it. Maybe Ryellie wasn't a vampire. Maybe she was something nameless.

Winded, she fell over. Her opponent fought dirty, kicking her when she was down. She gasped for air as she failed to get back on her feet, and Benny ran to help. Someone else got there first.

In a flash, Ryellie's opponent was on the ground, blood pouring from his broken nose, pleading for his life.

Rory stood over him, baring his fangs. With a squeal, Grayson's lackeys went running.

Ryellie stood up, stunned but smiling bright. The good guys gaped, then literally applauded. Rory took a grateful bow, making them laugh.

The laughter stopped when he got knocked down. With a kick.

"Again, really?" Benny commented, while the twins complained.

"Oh, you're still here." They yawned, regarding Grayson.

"Unlike my fair-weather friends," He said, picking up Rory who was writhing in pain. "I'm not afraid of _pointy teeth_." Now Rory was squirming to get out of Grayson's grasp. He wondered how he would explain to his parents why his shirt was so stretched out, while Grayson went on. "Like I said, I hate blondes."

He put Rory down gently, to everyone's surprise. With in eye roll, he glared in the blonde vampire's direction until their eyes locked. The look seemed forced, as if a second ago Rory wasn't at all focused on him. Confused by this, he did nothing but stand there. Reegan screamed, startling everyone but Grayson.

Then the group found out why. All of a sudden, it was as if Grayson was standing on Rory's lungs. The others watched in horror-not knowing what to do-as Rory's face went pale. Within seconds, he was in a coughing fit on the ground. Grayson stood over him, smiling evily as he gasped for air-eyes barely open-and his lips turned blue.

Grayson laughed, not taking his eyes of Rory. "Been a long time since you've known what that feels like, hasn't it?" He asked, cut off when he was sideswiped. Out of everything that happened, the group considered what they saw then as the greatest shock.

"Hello to you too, Erica." Grayson laughed, turning to face her as he got up.

When oxygen returned to Rory's lungs, it tasted better than blood.

The others didn't dare move, too dazed to do so.

"I thought I got rid of you." Erica spat.

"Key word: thought." Grayson replied, walking off.

A win by forfeit made the others sigh with relief. It was all over, for the moment.

Erica helped Rory to his feet without a word. He said an enthusiastic "Thank you!" to the air, before he saw she was already gone.

"Well, this day was weirder than normal." Benny commented. He knew the threat was still out there, but he and his friends could laugh knowing it wasn't right at their backs. Figuring Grayson and his henchmen out would be more than a challenge, but they were ready to face it together.

"You're telling me." Ryellie replied. "I hugged Erica this morning." The others eyed her strangely, thinking that might bump Erica showing up to save Rory off the top of the 'Daily Shocker' list.

"Well," Benny replied, laughing. "I can officially say this now."

"Say what?" Ryellie asked with a smile. One he mirrored when he answered.

"Welcome to Whitechapel…

**Thanks for reading, PLEASE REVIEW! Favorite part? Anything to elaborate on? Ideas? I'll update ASAP! =]**


	8. Truth & Dare

**Finally! This took awhile. Thanks of course to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and all that good stuff!**

**This chapter is dedicated to RascalKat and Dad.**

**I do not own My Babsitter's A Vampire. Or Velcro.**

That Tuesday afternoon, the group made jumping catches for gifts the twins tossed their way. All excepted Erica, who wondered how the others could have so much fun with nothing but Ryellie's brand new trampoline, practically the only thing in the backyard. Sarah's tiny bounces were a caution, as she didn't truly know the extent of her vampire strength. Ethan found them adorable.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why do we get presents?" Ryellie asked. "It's closer to your birthday than any of ours."

Reegan and Rae smiled at the mention of their nearing birthday. "We know," Rae said. "but this is to thank you for helping us fight our battle."

"We're sorry about Grayson." Reegan told everyone. She wanted to say so much more, but it was obvious she didn't like talking about him. Most of the group was surprised she could utter a sincere apology.

Despite his sympathy, Benny asked: "What does he want from you?"

She shrugged honestly in reply. Her tone was so soft it was almost scary. "He may not even really know. He just likes to toy with people, but he's grown tired of us. We probably won't see him for awhile."

_I can't believe we met someone more annoying than Jesse and Rory combined_. Benny thought, while Ethan wondered if anything Reegan had just told them was the truth.

"What exactly are his powers?" Ethan asked aloud.

Reegan sighed as she replied. "I don't know the extent of his abilities, but he can see your strongest memories and… make you relive them."

He nodded. "That explains the vision overload."

"And the asthma attack." Rory chimed in, making the others shake off a shudder.

"As long as we're giving presents…" Ryellie whispered, trying to keep everyone else's attention off of her. Benny turned to her, and she continued by handing him something.

A spell book, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. "I probably should've gotten you a magnifying glass too, but I found this and figured you could use it."

Ethan answered for Benny, with a question. "Why, because his own didn't cause enough trouble?"

In response, Ryellie just blinked, which told him that she hadn't been around long enough to know what he meant.

"Thanks. Where'd you find this?" Benny asked, curious.

"My basement." Ryellie replied.

"It wasn't in a double-locked chest, was it?" With that, Ryellie looked completely lost. "We're gonna have to tell you that story." Ethan and Sarah nodded in agreement.

"Hey!" Reegan shouted, sounding rather angry. Everyone looked up. Some concerned, some scared, and one indifferent. "Open your presents, and stop having your own personal conversations, there are five other people here."

Realizing that comment was directed at him, Ethan couldn't help but get defensive. Reegan had that effect on people. "It's them!" He pointed to Benny and Ryellie-who were too absorbed in the new spell book to care-and then stopped when he realized how he must've looked, thanks to the laughter.

Reegan's complaining gave her cousin an idea. "That reminds me." Ryellie said, springing up and running inside. Trying-unsuccessfully-to channel her newly acquired vampire speed.

When she returned, her friends followed, seeing that she was headed towards Ethan's house.

"So, apparently she has a plan." Benny said as they practically chased after Ryellie, since she didn't slow down. "Any idea what that is?"

Ethan shrugged in response. "Let's go find out."

* * *

><p>"One more for the collection." Ryellie told Jane, handing her a sea foam green stuffed rabbit with patches on the ears and feet made from denim material. The same one from her drawing, Benny noted. When she did this, her cousins pulled her aside before Jane had a chance to thank her.<p>

"How can you bare to part with the toy you've had since _birth_?" Rae questioned, shocked. Ryellie was about to give what she thought was the obvious answer: "It's Jane."

Reegan spoke before she could get a word out, though. "You call drawings, clovers, stuff you find in the basement and hand-me-downs _presents_? See, _this _is why you need a job."

* * *

><p>"So, how do you hold off the hunger for so long Ryellie? What's the secret? Are you some kind of miracle worker, or have you been sneaking some rats?"<p>

Sarah rolled her eyes playfully when she heard Erica's question, knowing it was a reference to her. The three girls were sitting in Ryellie's living room the following afternoon, right after school. Sarah planned to take Ryellie shopping, but Erica decided she had better things to do. Even if she was glad the shopping trip could mean that Ryellie might stop wearing picnic blankets as dresses. As far as she was concerned, Ryellie could use a stylist. Sarah was the perfect choice for the job.

Ryellie laughed, but she didn't laugh off the question. "I haven't been sneaking rats." She answered, clearly disgusted. "I asked Grandma for blood substitute." Seeing Erica's expression-one that read 'gutless'-Ryellie elaborated. "I have this theory about blood: bad smell, worse taste."

"It can't possibly taste worse than blood substitute." Erica argued. Then, she mumbled: "You are the world's weirdest vampire." She may have been trying to get on Ryellie's nerves, but the effort was pointless. She brushed it all off.

"I know I'm weird, and I'm proud of that, but I'm _not _a vampire."

Seeing that Sarah had found her keys and was ready to go, Erica knew she had one last chance to get under Ryellie's skin. "Not yet, but you'll crack under the pressure."

Ryellie didn't respond. She just walked out the door and followed Sarah to her car, while Erica headed in another direction.

* * *

><p>Sarah watched Ryellie scan the store they stood in, like she was in another world.<p>

"Besides boots and jewelry, I've only ever bought fabric." Ryellie admitted. "Nothing… readymade." She said, unable to find the right word. Sarah laughed lightly at the explanation, but she understood. Ryellie was shy in virtually everything she did, but that didn't stunt her creativity.

"Well, you don't have to buy anything. I just figured this would be a nice way to… unwind after all the craziness."

Ryellie nodded in a way that implied she felt a pang of sadness upon being reminded of what happened. "Thanks, Sarah."

"No problem."

After nearly an hour of chatting and just looking around, Ryellie found a dress she liked. It was black with paint splatters and spaghetti straps, a major contrast to the plain pale yellow one she had been wearing.

Ryellie shyly modeled the new dress in the tri-fold mirror. "Always a dress, huh?" Sarah asked.

Ryellie gave a defensive sort of shrug. "They make me feel pretty." _Like you_. Her thoughts added. _It's not like I can pull off jackets the way you do_.

Sarah's answer echoed Ryellie's next thought. "They're like your signature. Your fashion _staple_." She added jokingly. "You must _really _love them."

"You have _no idea_." Ryellie replied, still facing the mirror. With only her own reflection looking back. Once again, Sarah spoke her thoughts.

"I wonder how many other rules you break." Sarah didn't have to specify what rules she was referring to. Although, it wouldn't have mattered if she did. No one else was around.

"So do I." Ryellie told her, still staring at herself. The stare went blank when she spoke again. "But I don't really wanna find out."

Sarah blinked, baffled. "I gotta say, I'm a little surprised. You love magic." Ryellie heard Sarah's statement as a question: 'You don't find vampires magical? You don't find me special?' She had to rephrase herself, she didn't want to upset Sarah.

"Yeah, I do. But I'm not meant for it. Otherwise, I'd be a shape shifter." Sarah didn't know what to say. The way Ryellie was looking at herself, it was as if she thought she didn't belong in her own world.

Though that was only on the surface. Sarah could tell Ryellie worried how the change would affect everyone else too. That made her realize they weren't the only ones who needed a diversion.

* * *

><p>"Do you guys not like this place?" Ryellie asked her friends, going by their faces.<p>

Sarah had called Ethan after shopping, and word quickly spread that the plan was to meet up at Lotta Latte.

Everyone but the twins looked a little uneasy. Except Erica, who just looked like she didn't want to be there. With a reputation to uphold, Sarah and the twins didn't exactly make up for the fact that she was surrounded by dorks.

"It's not that." Ethan assured Ryellie.

"It's just weird to think back on how not that long ago, this place was _crawling _with zombies." Benny added in a hushed voice, laughing at the pun he made. He felt the need to explain what he found funny. "Get it? 'Cause zombies are slow." Ryellie gave him a smile, mostly out of pity, since no one laughed along.

"It's also weird that I didn't even know what a latte _was_." Rory said, making Ryellie purse her lips in confusion.

"I _still _don't know what a latte is." She admitted. The boys had to laugh. She was so much like them in some ways.

"And _we _still don't know what we're doing here." The twins reminded the others. Though Rae was the only one who said so jokingly.

Sarah spoke up. "I just thought everyone needed to relax after…" Her voice trailed off, but no one needed her to finish her sentence. They knew what she meant, they had all been there.

"How're we gonna do that?" The twins asked. At this point, the others exchanged amused glances. Except for Ryellie. She was used to it, but had to admit her cousins had a talent for talking in unison.

Seeing Sarah shrug, Rae said: "Ooh, I know," answering her own question. "We can play Truth or Dare."

"Here?" Ethan replied, with a tone that implied he didn't think that was such a good idea.

Reegan rejected that right away. "No, not here. There are people around, we don't wanna embarrass ourselves."

"Too late." Erica told her, motioning to the boys.

Benny didn't react to Erica, used to hearing comments like that from her, but he looked at Reegan as if he was rather disappointed. "You've gotta stop setting her up to say stuff like that."

Reegan chuckled in reply. "So, are you guys up for Truth or Dare or not?" She asked.

At first, no one answered. Then, Sarah said: "Sure, I'll play." She missed the game, and she still had a dare to do, not that she liked that the dare was attached to her first kiss with Ethan.

"Yeah, me too." Ethan decided, to nobody's surprise.

Benny looked at Ryellie. "Are you in?"

She shrugged, clearly nervous. "Are you?"

Before he could give an answer-one which he wasn't sure of-Reegan cut in, telling him: "Truth is, Ry doesn't dare."

"Clever." Ryellie retorted. Ignoring the sneer her cousin sent her, she added: "I'll play." With that, whether or not Benny was in the game was no longer a question. It was a definite yes.

Rory and Erica's answers were the only ones the twins were waiting on.

"Seriously?" That blunt response didn't come from the person the group would've expected it to. The others turned to Rory. "Isn't Truth or Dare kinda… overrated? Where's the excitement?"

"Rory, after what we just went through, I really don't think we're looking for excitement." Ethan pointed out.

"Well, we don't want it to be _boring_." He argued. "We should mix it up a bit."

"How?" Benny questioned.

"Take away the option?" Erica guessed, thinking she might consider playing if that was the case.

"Exactly!" Rory said, surprised but happy that they had the same thought. "Each turn everyone answers a truth question and takes a dare."

"_This _should be interesting." Ethan commented, noticing that Ryellie looked uncomfortable. Reegan was right. When it came to the game, the only thing Ryellie dared to do was tell the truth, being that she never lied.

"We should change our location after every turn." Ryellie suggested. "So we're not cooped up inside all day." She figured she would need fresh are to survive the game. Her cousin interrupted her before anyone had a chance to comment.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever." Reegan said, quickly growing impatient. "Let's just play, alright?" She asked, looking to Erica.

"I'll humor you." She decided. The group was all in.

"Where to first?" Sarah asked.

* * *

><p>Ryellie sat on her bedroom floor. The group was in a circle. They'd sat down without regard to placement, the twins' orders. Which is how Ryellie ended up with Ethan to her left, and Rory to her right. Not that she minded.<p>

"Okay." Reegan said. "I say whoever's closest to the door goes first, and we'll go clockwise from there. Deal?"

"_Deal_." Benny agreed enthusiastically, since the door was right behind him. A sly smile crept across his face, until Ethan wiped it off with what he said next.

"There are two doors in this room." He pointed out. Which everyone besides Erica could attest to. For a second, this made Benny a tad bit grumpy, but Reegan made it clear that Ethan's point hadn't changed her thinking.

"Yeah, Ethan. And you're sitting in front of the wrong one." She replied, pointing to the one she'd been referring to for clarification, bringing Benny's smile back. Reegan scoffed. "I don't know what you're so _happy _about."

"You really don't get what goes through our minds, do you?" Rae asked Benny. Then she let him in on what was really going on: "You're the victim."

"Victim?" He echoed, in a voice reflecting everyone else's confusion. Then he caught on. "Wait, I'm the one being dared?"

"Or… 'truthed'." Rae answered weakly, while her sister laughed. "Whichever comes first."

"That's so _backwards_!" Benny objected.

"But it's more fun that way." Reegan told him. "Now, who wants to 'Truth & Dare' Benny?"

"I will." Erica said. Ryellie had to wonder how much damage that could do, but Benny didn't look threatened. Since Erica was sitting right next to him, he turned to her.

"Dare me." He challenged.

She didn't have to think about what she would say. "Since Ryellie's so into art, make her a masterpiece," That sounded easy enough, but it was too harmless. Benny knew there had to be more to the dare. He waited for Erica to finish. "_but _you have to do it by super-gluing stuff to the wall." She said, pointing to the one behind Ethan.

"_What_?" It was all Benny could think to say, while most of the others laughed, thinking Ryellie wouldn't like that too much.

"If you don't take the dare, you're out." Reegan warned.

Ryellie looked over at him. "It's too plain." She said, regarding the wall. Giving him the okay.

With that, Benny headed to her art studio, and came back with a box of odds and ends-or inspirations, as Ryellie like to call them-to work with. The twins provided the superglue, and within minutes, the light neon orange wall was decorated with an empty perfume bottle, pieces of Velcro, multicolored feathers, an artificial lilac Benny couldn't help but smile at, a pin cushion, a brown paper bag, and a small rubber duck among other things. The best part? Benny had arranged all the objects in a way that spelled out Ryellie's name.

"Aw, how cute." Rae complimented. Ryellie said the same thing, but just with her eyes. Benny caught the message.

Erica's chuckles got louder when she asked: "Why's your hand still on the wall?"

"'Cause it's stuck." Benny admitted in a mumble.

"You glued yourself to the wall?" Ethan asked, slipping into laughs as well.

"And you call me dumb." Rory said. With that, nearly the whole room was in stitches.

"Hey!" That quiet but sharp scream made heads turn. Everyone's eyes were on Ryellie. "Maybe he did it on purpose. He _is _a work of art."

While words like that made Benny's heart melt, they didn't get his hand unstuck from the wall. With his free hand, he reached into his pocket for his new spell book. Looking for anything that might help. Seconds and a spell later, he was no longer glued to the wall. He rejoined the group in the circle, and they all looked at him. "What?"

"Should we be concerned?" It took Benny a few seconds to understand what Ethan's question meant. Apparently, most of people in the room assumed Benny hadd blundered the spell somehow, and that it was going to come back to bite them. Ryellie and the twins hadn't been in town long enough to see his magic in action, and form an opinion of their own.

"_No_. It's a separation spell." Benny said, gesturing to himself. "I'm separated. No big deal."

"Unless you neglected to read the fine pint." Ethan argued.

Benny replied with a laugh. "Have you _seen_ this book?" He asked, practically shoving it in Ethan's face. Making him flinch. "It's all fine print." Ryellie would have apologized for that-even though it wasn't her fault the book had been made pint-sized-but Benny actually seemed amused by it.

Erica was the only one who was annoyed. "Can we get on with the game, already?"

"You're boring a vampire to death." Reegan teased.

Benny ignored her and waited for Erica's truth question. He half-expected her to drop a bomb on him.

"Name something you hate about Ryellie." She certainly met his expectations.

"Brutal." The twins commented, though Reegan was laughing. Ryellie bit her tongue while Benny, Ethan and Sarah sent Erica half-baffled, half-outraged stares. Rory was curious to hear the answer, but not exactly happy about the 'question'. Erica just waited, stoic.

"Nothing." Benny replied finally. He had to answer, or else he'd be out of the game. Erica had something to say about that.

"Then why did it take you so long to answer?"

That question only brought more hesitation. Benny looked at Ryellie before he spoke. "I could _never _hate anything about you." He turned to Erica when he continued "And you're evil for asking that question." The chorus of laughs he got in reply did nothing to drown out the word that sounded sharp enough to slice through it. "But-"

Everyone stared at Benny. They hadn't expected him to have anything more to say. "Don't all look at me like that." His tone was defensive toward everyone else but Ryellie. To her, he sounded cautious. He hoped she knew him well enough to see that he was only asking for a chance to explain himself, not trying to offend her in any way.

"I was just gonna say that I always wondered something, and it bothers me that I never asked."

Ryellie mentally breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, okay. What is it?"

"Do you _only_ wear dresses?" Benny only asked because that's all he ever saw her in. He could tell by the expressions on most of his friends' faces that they'd been wondering the same thing. By the way the twins giggled, he guessed there was something he'd missed. And with how Ryellie hesitated in answering, it was obvious to everyone that she was slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah, dresses are definitely my thing. I've never been much of a pants person."

None of her friends could help snickering. "Pants person?" Ethan and Benny echoed, exchanging odd glances, wondering if they'd caught on to the twins' habit.

"She doesn't even own a pair!" Reegan told the group. Louder laughter ensued.

Ryellie closed her eyes, half-wishing she could disappear. Something so simple made her feel like an outcast, even in the group she hung around with. A hand overlapping hers sent her eyes flying open. She caught sight of an encouraging smile from Benny, and instantly calmed down. Even when a pang of guilt made him pull back. Rules were rules.

Ryellie looked at her cousins. "Does that count as my truth question?"

"No." Reegan replied, flat out.

"Wait your turn." Rae insisted. Then, in a-surprisingly-taunting sort of tone, she added: "Erica's next." Rules were rules.

* * *

><p>"This isn't the order we first sat down in." Ethan said to the group. He could tell because he sat between Erica and Rae this time around, on his front porch. The others were grouped on the steps below the three of them, forming a semi-circle.<p>

"Why are we outside?" Rory wondered aloud.

_Because I would have a heart attack if I was given a dare somewhere there isn't anyone to hear me scream._ Ryellie thought in reply. She didn't want to back down from the game, but she had a feeling she wouldn't last through the first round.

"Because I can take anything you guys throw at me, and I don't care who sees." Erica answered casually.

"Wanna bet?" Sarah countered. She sounded very confident.

"Do your worst." Erica told her, not at all threatened.

"Okay." She said, pausing for dramatic effect. "How 'bout you tell Rory the truth about why you stood him up Saturday?"

Erica groaned. She wanted to respond with: "How 'bout no?" But saying that would get her outed from the game. She didn't want to have to reflect on the-very-short-lived relationship she and Rory had had, but she also didn't want to go back on what she'd just told the others either.

Erica wasn't going to make her answer some heartfelt confession. Especially since the truth wasn't so pretty. She looked around at the group as she spoke. (Which would've been rather difficult if she wasn't on the top step.) At Rae, Ethan, Sarah, Benny, Reegan, Ryellie and finally Rory, who was basically right next to her, although he was sitting one step below her. "I know you all probably heard what I said to Grayson when I was in the middle of rescuing Rory." She said the last part of her sentence almost as if that had been an inconvenience. "That wasn't our first encounter. Neither was Saturday night, and that's all I'm gonna say about it."

Sarah wanted to argue-knowing that was nowhere close to the whole truth-but that's how Erica was. Rory wasn't bothered. Not by her. Grayson was an entirely different story, and because of that, Rory felt he had to make Erica a promise.

"I'll protect you from now on, my vampire vixen. Just like I saved Ryellie!" Benny rolled his eyes. In his opinion, Rory was really letting that go to his head. Partially because he felt the knight in shining armor role should've gone to him instead, but also because promises like that were a prime example of Rory being Rory.

To the others, besides Erica, it was clear that Rory wasn't over her. Which came as no shock. As Erica saw it, Rory was still his same old, stupid self.

"I'm the one who saved you from Grayson." She reminded him.

"He caught me off guard." Rory said, trying to come across as defensive, but his tone sounded defeated. He didn't want anyone to think he wasn't strong enough to protect Erica. When that thought sparked an idea, his facial expression gave that away.

"I dare you to see if you really could take me in a fight." He told her. Most of the others laughed, thinking Rory had to be joking, but not understanding the way he phrased the dare since they hadn't been there for the original conversation.

"I thought it was my turn to do the daring." Sarah said, disappointed. She didn't know why she always got so into Reegan, Rae and Ryellie's games.

"And _I_ thought you still had a few functioning brain cells. My mistake." Erica said to Rory. "I am _not _gonna fight you."

"You wouldn't fight Rory if you had the chance?" Sarah asked her best friend, even though she had just said that. Although, it was possible she just didn't feel like it. Most could say they were sure Erica would jump at the chance to fight Rory if she had the energy.

"Does that count as my second truth question? Would it count as a dare if you dared me to answer it?"

"You can't have a second truth question," Benny said. "That's against the rules!"

"You don't make the rules, Benny." Reegan argued.

"I thought Rory did. It's called Truth _&_ _Dare_!"

Sarah nodded in agreement, and then looked back at Erica. "Just 'cause I'm curious about how you'd answer that question, I dare you to."

Erica gave nod, but didn't look at Sarah when she answered. Instead, she turned to Rory. "I know I could take you in a fight, I don't have to prove that to anyone." Her tone softened along with her expression when she added: "I couldn't hurt you if I wanted to."

* * *

><p>"Why am I going next? It's not even my turn." Sarah said, as she sat down in the grass with the rest of group at the park. When Reegan had complained about there being no blanket to sit on, Erica told her to blame Ryellie, since she had probably turned it into a dress. That made Reegan giggle, but what Sarah said made her eyebrows raise. The twins were surprised, since Sarah was always so eager to play their games, and she had a knack for them.<p>

What she said next made it all make sense. "Ethan's supposed to go." The two of them were sitting so close, it seemed they were attached at the hip.

"He'll get his turn." Rae assured Sarah.

"And I'll get my revenge." Erica added jokingly, acting like her own turn had been torture.

"You can't, you already went once this round." Sarah reminded her.

"True." Erica agreed, coming to her own decision. "Benny, you should dare her." No one seemed to object. (Too scared to say anything, Erica guessed.) Except Sarah.

"Do you have to dare me first?" Sarah asked Benny, slipping into a whine. "Don't I have a choice?"

He shrugged slightly. "You know my truth question is just gonna be related to the dare, right?" By Sarah's translation, that meant: "Either way, you're trapped."

"No!" She refused, as she stood up suddenly. Only Benny found this response appropriate. Her other friends, as well as the people in the park, just stared at her-and her clenched fists and frown-wondering where that outburst came from.

"Sarah, if you don't take the dare, you're out of the game." Benny didn't say this in a teasing way, his tone was more surprised. In his shock, he couldn't help what came out of his mouth next. "_You_ would rather lose a game in the first round than kiss your own boyfriend?"

With that, Rory and the twins reacted with a collective "Whoa." Except Erica, who rolled her eyes, and Ryellie and Ethan who looked between both Benny and Sarah blankly, not knowing what to feel.

"I guess so." Sarah answered finally, in a hushed voice. The others were totally silenced and Ethan-almost involuntarily-hung his head.

Hoping no one noticed, he lightened up for the sake of saving the game and said: "My turn."

* * *

><p>"Have you thought of something yet?" Ryellie whispered, while sat between her cousins. "Try to make the dare funny." She advised Reegan, figuring Ethan needed some cheering up, based on the look on his face after Sarah opted for out over kissing him. And the walk they all had to take to get to Rae's preferred spot in the forest.<p>

"Okay, Ethan. I've kept you waiting long enough, so… I dare you to-" Reegan trailed off while looking around the forest for inspiration. "Propose to that tree." She finished, pointing to a random one. Possibly the saddest looking tree in all of Whitechapel. Next to it, Ethan seemed euphoric.

"Alright." He replied, his tone of voice substituting for a weird look. He stood up and walked over to the sad-looking, half-dead tree. The entire group followed. "At least no one is around to see this." He mumbled, sighing.

In response to that, Erica pulled out her phone and started recording, while silencing Rory's snickering with a death stare, fearful that he would give away her position. By the look on Benny's face, she'd read his mind.

Ethan cleared his throat, and spoke in a lovesick tone. "I've come to you today with an extremely sensitive situation. Here's the root of my problem," Ethan kept talking over choruses of chuckles. "and trust me, this is not a shady deal. I'd like to extend an olive branch, so we can be joined together in marriage."

"It's almost scary how many tree puns Ethan knows." Reegan thought aloud, making Rae outright shush her, caught up in the moment.

"I've been pining over you." Ethan continued, as he got down on one knee and pantomimed taking a ring box out of his pocket and opening it. "Please accept this… annual ring."

"Annual?" Rory repeated. "I don't even get that one."

Reegan glared at him, getting dragged into the moment along with her sister. "If you wanna keep those fangs in your moth, _shut it_!"

Startled by Reegan's sharp whisper, Rory's automatic reaction was to hide behind Erica. "That's manly." She told him sarcastically, not turning around, so she could continue getting her footage. "I'm so confident you'll protect me."

"I can handle psychos with… memory powers, but Reegan's _scary_."

"Hush. Now." The twins warned, as Ethan finished his proposal. Sarah had been staring at the back of his head the entire time, keeping her arms crossed.

"Please say 'yes', or I will never leaf you alone." That pun seemed to tickle everyone's funny bone. Rory especially, since he laughed so hard he fell down. Which made Erica laugh so hard she cried.

"That's love." Ryellie mouthed. Only Benny read her lips, and he chuckled good-naturedly in reply. Then he walked over to Ethan.

"Well, I know if the tree was either one of the twins, you'd have a wife."

"Thanks." Ethan replied half-heartedly, not exactly sure how to respond.

"What?" Benny asked, seeing right through his act. "Are you still mad at me about Sarah's dare? Or do you still expect the separation spell to backfire?"

Since neither situation made him feel very good, Ethan had to be honest. "Kinda both."

"Well, I don't know how to apologize for the dare, and I don't need to apologize for the spell. _Nothing's gonna happen._" Benny stressed.

Ethan didn't answer him. Ethan couldn't answer, because he wasn't there. Not since Benny had blinked a split second ago. Ethan was gone, along with Sarah and the twins.

While Rory's eyes darted back and forth in confusion and Erica felt a headache coming on, Benny exhaled heavily in frustration. "Great. Ethan jinxed it."

Ryellie giggled in reply, even though she felt too worried to actually mean it. "I really need to get you that magnifying glass…"

**Thanks for reading, PLEASE REVIEW! Favorite part? Anything to eleborate on? I have A LOT of ideas for next chapter, but I do need help figuring out what gifts the twins got for everyone. Any ideas would be great. I'll update ASAP! =]**


	9. The Second Split

**BAD NEWS****: My laptop is kaput and I have to do update's from the family computer using my flashdrive now. GOOD NEWS: I'm on vacation, so the updates should be faster for that reason. A BIG thanks to all my readers, reviewers, idea givers and all-that-good-stuffers. This ones for you (and my dad, who decided where Ryellie's family moved from), thanks for all the support and HAPPY HOLIDAYS! =]**

**I do not own My Babysitter's A Vampire**

"This doesn't look like nothing to me." Ethan said, in a stern tone that made it seem like he was parenting his friend.

"Relax." Benny said, on the other line. He squinted as he stared at the page in his spellbook, as if making his line of sight smaller would somehow enlarge the text. "As soon as I figure out how to read this, I'll know what I'm dealing with."

"You mean like what you should've done when you first cast the spell?" Ethan asked flatly. "I'm amazed at how you never learn."

Benny scoffed, obviously not liking Ethan's attitude. "You _should _be amazed at how I was able to open the book while only using one hand."

Ethan paused on his front porch. "Yeah, how did you do that, anyway?" He shook off his spoken thought before Benny had a chance to answer. "Just read me the fine print!"

"I'm workin' on it." Benny insisted, passing the book Ryellie's way as they walked back through the forest, leading Rory and Erica. "Can you tell what this says?" He whispered. Though there was really no reason for him to whisper, since he took his phone away from his ear anyway.

"Not without my reading glasses." Ryellie answered, disappointed that she couldn't help.

"_What_?" Benny replied. "Your vision stayed the same after you turned? You really got the short end of the stick, huh?" He asked sympathetically. She shrugged it off while Benny tossed the book back in Rory's direction.

Rory caught the spellbook without even looking. "How does he _do _that?" Erica thought aloud in a hushed tone, annoyed that she was actually impressed.

"Read." Benny commanded, earning nothing more than a laugh in response, before Rory started paraphrasing.

"According to the warning, if no specifications are made to the spell, it takes effect on anything unintentionally stuck together in a literal sense, and then works its magic on everyone in the room. We're safe though. The spell doesn't break strong emotional ties. So by the time it wears off, we'll all be in couples. We don't have to worry about anybody splitting in half."

Erica gagged. "I really needed _that _mental image." She told Rory sarcastically.

"This coming from a _vampire_." Benny commented, even though he agreed with her. Since Ethan was growing impatient, Benny relayed the message to him.

Ethan thought about saying "You're lucky", but decided against that. He knew what his anger really stemmed from, and didn't want to take it out on anyone anymore. "Okay then, I guess we just… wait it out."

"Yeah, see ya soon." Benny said, not wanting to admit that Rae had led the group into a part of the forest where he had never been. _I hope_.

* * *

><p>"Are we still gonna play?" Rae asked, as she lied upside down on Ethan's couch.<p>

Sarah laughed, at both her position and her question. "How are we gonna play with half a group?"

Rae shrugged, which looked rather weird with the position she was in. "It's my turn to dare Reegan." She said, forgetting all about the fact that Ethan hadn't had a full turn.

"And what about the truth question?" He asked, unsure if he was trying to jog her memory, or actually curious. He had just gotten done with his conversation with Benny, only to be greeted by the sight of Rae as he walked into the living room. He was too busy laughing to care one way or the other.

Rae rolled over, since the blood had began rushing to her head. "I already know everything there is to know about her."

"I doubt that." Ethan answered.

"So, what's my dare?" Reegan asked, not acknowledging Ethan's comment or allowing anyone else to.

"Uh, go… raid Sarah's closet. Bring back the weirdest thing you can find."

"Whatever you say, sis." Reegan told Rae in a condescending tone. Never letting Rae forget who was in charge.

"Crazy." Sarah teased as the two girls left the house. Ethan watched the door close, and Rae watched him sigh silently as he sat down next to her.

Then the door opened again. "Forgot my keys." Sarah announced.

"It's gonna be hard to drive anywhere without those." Rae said, after a giggle. "Now who's the crazy one?" The two friends shared a warm smile as Sarah picked her keys up off the coffee table.

"Bye." She said, pecking Ethan's cheek before she went off again.

"Bye." Rae answered for him, since all Ethan could do was sit there and blush profusely. Although, half of him actually wanted to wipe the kiss off. The ghost of a 'real' kiss denied would forever haunt him, and thinking about that made it difficult to enjoy the good things he knew he had.

"You know," Rae said, slipping into a less hyper, more serious tone. "I hope Sarah always trips you up like that. It's never not adorable." Ethan smiled at her awkward choice of words and the meaning behind them while Rae thought of something. "Why don't you Truth & Dare me?"

Ethan considered telling her that Reegan would be mad, but he hushed his thoughts a second time. He didn't want to remind Rae that she was constantly under her sister's control. "Okay." He replied finally. "You choose."

"Truth." Rae decided, without hesitation.

It was Ethan who faltered. At first, he tried to ignore the question that popped into his head, but he kept coming back to it and couldn't resist asking. "What's the story with you and your boyfriend?" He said finally. By the way Rae's eyes went dull, he could tell he struck a nerve. "I was just curious because apparently the other day was your anniversary and he wasn't here to celebrate with you. Plus, I've never heard you talk about him and… you _really _like to talk… I didn't mean to-" Ethan cut his rambling short . He was only talking to fill the uncomfortable silence he created, but stopped when he realized Rae was laughing.

"Ethan, Ethan, it's okay." Rae insisted. "I just really wasn't expecting that question. I didn't think you paid that much attention."

"Why not? We're friends, aren't we?" He asked. It had never occurred to Ethan that the twins might just hang out with Ryellie's friends because they wanted to be with their cousin.

"Yeah, totally." Rae agreed, shining a smile. "And, I know this is gonna sound weird," She went on, bringing the volume down a bit. "but… in a way, you remind me of him."

"_Your boyfriend_?" Ethan asked, unintentionally raising an eyebrow. It was hard to imagine a girl like Rae going out with a guy like him.

"Yeah, 'cause you're both closet nerds."

Ethan blinked.

"Come _on_." Rae said, giving his arm a 'friendly tap', that was more of a shove. "You can't deny that you don't fully embrace your dorkiness."

"Well, I-" Ethan started, only disagreeing half way.

"You try to act the least geeky of your friends whenever anyone else is around."

"I'm not gonna argue with you, there's no way I can win." Ethan decided.

Rae pointed to him as if he had just made a very valid point. "See, that's why Walter and I make such a good couple." Ethan laughed sarcastically, but stopped himself to avoid getting another one of those 'friendly taps'.

"I'm kidding." Rae told him. She got quiet again, but only for a moment. "We make a good couple because we love each other; we have since we were sixteen."

"Wow." Ethan replied, incapable of saying anything else, seeing the wonder in Rae's eyes.

"I really miss him." She said sadly, but she quickly fixed her tone, so Ethan wouldn't worry. "But I should've known my family wouldn't stay in one place for too long. We were in Wisconsin for nearly half a decade. That's a record for us."

"Not to be cynical, but… if he loves you so much, why didn't he show up for your anniversary?" Ethan knew that sounded exactly how he _hadn't _meant it.

"Between our school schedules and work schedules, we both knew it wasn't feasible. I'm not worried, though." Rae told him, her smile resurfacing. "We'll find each other again."

* * *

><p>Reegan jetted out of Sarah's car, thinking she wouldn't stop running until she got to Sarah's room. Only, something stopped her.<p>

Since Sarah was walking at normal speed, she didn't see the fear come into Reegan's eyes. And she didn't see Reegan blink, to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

The bleached-blonde was staring at a streetlight, which had a black letter 'G' carelessly scribbled on it. The smell that came with it was unmistakably nail polish. Reegan brought her hand to her cheek and let out a shuttering breath. Then, she pulled herself together and let out a dismissive snort. "Who does he think he is, Zorro?"

She put on a smile just as Sarah reached where she was standing, and continued on as if nothing had happened.

* * *

><p>Erica wound up leading the crowd in the forest, but she stopped short when a realization hit her.<p>

This caused a chain reaction, the three behind her trying their best not to bump into one another. Rory's reflexes failed him, and he found himself on the ground. "Second time today and it's still funny." Benny commented, after a chuckle. As Rory stumbled to his feet, Benny and Ryellie couldn't help but eye him strangely. He _should_ have the best balance out of the three of them, being a full-fledged vampire.

Erica ignored Rory's strange behavior, and she didn't seem to find anything funny about what happened. In fact, the only one she was shooting weird looks at was Ryellie. "Where are your sunglasses?" Though the thick trees were doing a good job of blocking the sun, any vampire with common sense would know they must always be prepared.

"What sunglasses?" Ryellie questioned, puzzled.

"The ones you're supposed to wear to shield your eyes from the _sun_."

By this point, the others knew what Erica was getting at. This was another one of Ryellie's little quirks.

"I swear you're not a vampire. You're a freak of nature."

The look Benny gave Erica could've burned a hole in her head, but Ryellie took no offense. She had a point to make as well. "I can't heal myself, my vampiric speed… sucks," That lame pun earned her a chuckle from the boys. "and my eyesight hasn't improved. Some strengths need to balance out the drawbacks, right?"

"Whatever." Erica replied, as she resumed walking.

* * *

><p>Maniacal laughter signaled Reegan's return. She burst through Ethan's front door at top speed, looking rather awkward with her hands behind her back. Ethan and Rae looked at each other.<p>

"And I thought you were hyper." He commented, as Sarah walked in.

"Reegan, this is embarrassing."

"That's the whole point of the dare, Sarah." She replied, turning her attention to the two on the couch. As she brought what she had found out from behind her back, she said: "Now, can anyone take a wild guess as to what the rationale behind keeping _this _is?"

Reegan turned the pink shirt around-while Sarah repressed a humiliated whine-to reveal the discolored stain on the front of it. A stain Ethan remembered. A stain he had caused. He didn't have an explanation for why Sarah would keep the shirt, but he sure hoped she had one. For a moment, Sarah just stood there with her head in her hand. Rae couldn't help but giggle.

"Okay, yeah." Sarah began, talking directly to Ethan since she could see he was the most curious. And rightfully so. "It really does make me look crazy when you find out a kept a shirt from the day I wound up wearing my lunch. After I changed, I couldn't get the stain out so I just threw this somewhere in a _fit of rage_." She said jokingly. The three others laughed along with Sarah. "But by the time I found it again, you weren't just some dork."

"You were _my _dork." Reegan mocked, clasping her hands together and batting her eyelashes.

"Pretty much." Sarah said, sending Ethan a smile and making him blush.

"Alright, enough of this mush," Reegan said, carelessly throwing the shirt in a corner and then turning to her eye-rolling sister. "truth me."

* * *

><p>"How long have we been walking?"<p>

"Long enough, Rory." Benny replied. "I think we're going in circles." Regardless of that, Ryellie followed her friends. The first-and only-time she had been in the forest, she wasn't concerned about where she was going. She just wanted to get away. Her focus at the moment was on getting home.

"I don't get the point of this." Rory said. "We're just gonna split up again anyway."

"Even vampires need exercise." Ryellie joked.

She didn't know him well enough to know he wasn't just talking about being lost. His secret thoughts were projecting themselves.

Seeing his expression though, Ryellie had to get serious. "Are you okay?" She asked, in reaction to what was clearly a frown. She spoke with caution, not wanting to upset Rory, no matter the answer.

He looked up, not noticing that Erica was waiting to hear his answer as well. "Oh, yeah. Just… distracted." Ryellie gave a nod and a reassuring smile, before going to catch up with Benny.

A surprised grunt told her that was going to be a bit of a challenge. His spellbook-which he had long since gotten back from Rory-went flying, and he found himself on the ground.

"Benny!" The way Ryellie came running for him was with the same amount of urgency as when Grayson had kicked him over. Benny laughed while she helped him to his feet and fetched his spellbook for him. Then he looked at the root he had tripped over, pointing accusingly.

"If that's attached to Ethan's fiancée, he's gonna hear about this."

That earned Benny a collective laugh in reply, but Ryellie's laugh ended in a gasp. Rory and Erica's eyes darted down to Benny's knuckles, before he could see what the others saw for himself. He winced at the sight and the sting of the injury. "You guys are like sharks." He said. While the full-fledged vampires kept their hungry gazes locked on him, Ryellie just took his hand gingerly.

"Does it hurt?" She asked. It didn't look like much, but the how it felt was what mattered.

"Nah." Benny replied automatically. It was more annoying than painful, but he couldn't manage to speak his thoughts on account of Ryellie's magic touch. He forgot that he was even bothered, looking at her.

Rory's eyebrows knitted together, and he looked at Erica to see if she had the same thought. Both of them were waiting on the other two to catch on.

"Ryellie?" Rory called, trying to break her from her trance. Subconsciously, he knew he took the place of a record scratch in her mind.

"Yeah?" She asked, turning to him. Her emotions got the best of her though, because she still didn't let go of Benny's hand.

"That's a really cool trick." Rory was joking with her-despite his awe-while Erica glowered.

Ryellie looked down to see that Benny's scratches were gone, and only a few drops of blood remained.

"Bonus." Benny said, regarding Ryellie's healing ability. He sent her an impressed and thankful smile she couldn't return. She was scared of her own strength.

* * *

><p>"Lemme get this straight." Reegan said, looking at her sister and their two friends disappointedly. Her tone was slightly venomous, but that was just because she was overreacting. "First you ungrateful people, my so-called <em>friends <em>still haven't opened your presents."

Ethan didn't bother interrupting Reegan to say that they all had busy lives and hadn't gotten around to it yet. Not to mention it was the twins' idea to play Truth & Dare in the first place, delaying the gift opening even further. He knew that no matter what his argument was, Reegan would tell him he was wrong.

"Then you… _unsportsmanlike _people," Reegan went on, pointing to Sarah "you and _my own cousin_ buy a dress from the competition."

Ethan, Sarah, and Rae exchanged odd glances and shared a pitiful laugh that was drowned out by Reegan's chatter.

"And to top it all off, you _impatient _people, one of my three favorite geeks in the _whole entire universe_ and my own _twin sister_, can't even wait 'til Sarah and I get back to go on with the game?"

"Ryellie's pretty geeky too." Sarah pointed out.

"Yeah," Ethan agreed. "so is Walter."

Rae gave him a high-five for making her point for her since she didn't have the guts. Reegan's ranting was more enjoyable for the three others than the actual game had been so far. She made it clear she didn't feel that way, though. With one stern look.

Rae swallowed a sigh and thought of a truth question. "Why did you break up Grayson, anyway? Was he always this crazy and you just didn't realize it?" Reegan didn't take too kindly to her sister's teasing, especially considering the answer she had for it. She supposed it was payback for the way she had just talked to the others. So, she answered, despite how tired she was of talking about Grayson.

"We used to get made fun of, for a lot of reasons. Especially since years before he got his license, I would pick him up from school. Kids were just _mean_, and I was tired of fighting with them." Reegan was happy that her stupid sob story was over. Only, no one else saw things the way she did.

"You expect us to believe you broke up with Grayson just 'cause there's an age difference between the two of you?" Ethan asked. "What does that matter?"

Only then did Reegan realize she struck a nerve.

"It doesn't. It shouldn't." She stammered. Ethan and Sarah's expressions weren't making this easy on her. She would understand if they were angry, but the couple just looked crushed. "It did to me, at the time. And that was shallow, but… I act on impulse. I can't help it."

The others knew Reegan had a better reason behind the breakup, but Ethan and Sarah silently accepted her rephrased answer as an apology. While Rae got herself together, told herself to stop being stubborn, and moved on. She wasn't satisfied with her sister's answer, but it would have to do.

"Hey, you never got a truth question, Ethan." Reegan realized. When he looked at her in anticipation, she said the first thing that came to her mind. "Have you ever had a vision about me?"

Ethan prayed he hadn't swallowed loud enough to be heard.

"Yeah." He answered, afraid to elaborate. Reegan waited for him to say more, but he didn't dare. She was already upset by the way her own answer made her look, and Ethan didn't want to make her feel worse.

Sarah brought her hand to the small of Ethan's back comfortingly. His eyes flickered with that natural nervousness, that only Rae took notice of.

"Dare me already, I'm growing impatient." She knew what she was risking by interrupting Reegan, but figured it was worth it, for Ethan's sake.

"Okay." He thought deeply but briefly, thinking that with her personality, Rae was likely to do just about anything. "I dare you to find a way to force Ryellie to wear pants."

"That's ridiculous." Reegan commented, while Sarah giggled. She doubted her sister could pull it off.

"That's… challenging." Rae said. And she loved a challenge. "I'll do it."

* * *

><p>"Here you go." Ryellie said to Rory, who had taken the lead. It seemed that no matter who guided the group, they weren't getting anywhere.<p>

"What's this?" Rory asked, though he knew the answer. It was the point of her giving it to him that he didn't understand.

"That's a pinecone, Rory." Benny told him in a slow, teasing tone.

Ryellie nodded slightly in agreement. "Also known as lunch."

Erica would've laughed if she didn't find the dare disgusting. She hadn't even known that the group was still playing, but she didn't bother wasting her breath arguing about it.

Rory owed the success of his dare to his fangs. Otherwise, going about it would've most likely been next to impossible. Benny found the way Rory devoured the poor pinecone with such relish to be funnier than both of the falls he had taken combined. Erica was surprised to find that she could barely watch, as hearing all the crunching was bad enough. Conversely, Ryellie wasn't at all surprised, and she admired Rory's fearlessness.

"Not bad." Rory announced once he was finished. Though he was sure he wouldn't be able to say the same if he were still human. Being a vampire changed everything.

With that in mind, he expected that whatever truth question Ryellie could come up with was going to be no sweat.

"In a word, tell us how you feel about being a vampire." She kept her eyes on Rory as she walked, stepping carefully to avoid falling like her friends had. Especially in a new dress Sarah had paid for.

Rory kept his eyes forward, thinking it was just like Ryellie to come up with something so deep, without doing so on purpose.

She saw him take a deep breath. After much hesitation, he spoke.

"Ambivalent."

Rory heard everyone's footsteps stop behind him.

"Whoa." Benny said, unable to keep his thoughts quiet.

"What?" Rory asked innocently, not seeing what was so shocking about his answer.

Apparently, Benny and Erica shared the same mindset.

"Why ambivalent?" She asked, not sure she really wanted to know. Rory's vampirism had been her fault, after all. Even though neither of them had had a choice in that matter.

"Well, for one thing, I _love _flying," He began his reply on a strong note, but got softer as he went on. "but I hate landing since I'm still no good at it."

"Mm-hmm." Benny agreed. Not that he was holding a grudge over Rory knocking out the satellite dish when he was trying to enjoy _Jacuzzi Time Machine_.

"And all the perks of vampirism are pretty awesome." Rory continued. "But sometimes… I miss being half-blind and asthmatic."

"Why?" The others chorused. Though Ryellie's tone was only curious, not confused nearly to the point of anger. Benny and Erica couldn't see how he missed being human. Ryellie just wanted to know why.

"Because it's normal." Rory said simply.

That lifestyle was all he had known before he turned.

"You were never normal." Erica pointed out, saying exactly what Benny was thinking. The point was valid since Rory was virtually the same person post-transformation.

"But now I'm even less… not normal." He couldn't even make a good argument, afraid of what Erica would think of it all. He wasn't blaming her for anything, but knowing she thought that way was heartbreaking. And scary. That thought gave Rory an idea, and he turned to Ryellie when a question crossed his mind. She looked back at him in question, and he spoke. "Ryellie, what are you afraid of?"

"Fire." She answered, qucikly and softly.

Rory and Erica looked at each other, while Benny struggled to speak. In that moment, he wished he wasn't surrounded by people with a super sense of hearing. Lucky for him, he was drowned out by a comment from Rory.

"That's ironic."

"Yeah." Ryellie agreed, since Erica didn't have to. Rory knew she was thinking the same thing. "But what do you expect from a fledgling like me?" For her, the question wasn't exactly rhetorical. Even she didn't know what to expect.

Benny answered, but what he said didn't sound like it was just meant as a compliment. "I don't think there is a fledgling like you."

Ryellie would've responded, if the graying clouds overhead didn't distract her. "Looks like rain."

Her tone left nothing for interpretation, but Benny knew her best. He knew she was holding back a quiet whine of annoyance.

Ryellie was preoccupied with laughing over Rory whispering the dare he thought of in her ear. Then she gave him a look. She wasn't mad, just intrigued. Benny and Erica looked at each other, trying to piece together whatever the big secret was, before deciding that Rory was probably just whispering to get on their nerves.

"How did you manage to combine my two least favorite things with a dare?" Ryellie asked.

She got no answer. She and Benny shared a worried glance. They were alone in the forest...

**Thanks for reading, PLEASE REVIEW! Any ideas would be awesome. Especially for the kinds of gifts the twins got everybody. And anything to do with party planning, since their birthday is coming up! I'll update ASAP! =]**


	10. Surprise Surprise

**Here's Chapter 10! A MAJOR thank you to all my readers, writers, favoriters, and all-that-good-stuffers! **

**This chapter is dedicated to Mbsavsuperfan and IluvFabianRutter. House Of Anubis fans, please go check out** **House of Survival. It's PURE AMAZINGLY EPIC AWESOMENESS!**

**I don't own My Babysitter's A Vampire**

"If Benny and Ryellie aren't back in five minutes, we should probably go searching for them." Sarah said this as she sat on the floor in the twins' bedroom, since the two of them had only bounced back to Ryellie's room-the starting point of the game-after the second split. The group wanted to stay together. In actuality, the twins had dragged Ethan and Sarah there to listen to them argue over party themes. Reegan and Rae didn't seem to be _planning _anything. The sisters seemed to have more fun fighting.

"More like five _seconds_." Reegan corrected. "As soon as the adults come home they're gonna start grilling us: 'Where's Ryellie? How long has she been there? Why isn't she back yet? Who's she with? What are they doing?'…"

"Where's her off switch?" Ethan whispered, putting a fistful of mini-marshmallows in his mouth.

"I'm still searching." Rae replied, making Ethan look like a human cannon, laughing out mushy white confetti.

"Ew!" Reegan shrieked, while Rae laughed and Ethan tried to hide his sheer embarrassment.

"Hot." Sarah joked, though that didn't help the situation.

"Let's just pretend that didn't happen." Rae suggested, knowing everyone thought that was best.

"No." Reegan answered bitterly. "Let's find a dustpan and leave finding Benny and Ryellie to somebody else."

* * *

><p>"After all I've told you, I can't believe you're not mad at me for anything." Benny said sounding baffled, as he walked through the forest with Ryellie. He was trying not to lose hope of ever finding home, and couldn't remember the last time doing that had been so difficult.<p>

"I don't have any reason to be." Ryellie told him. "I have to say, I didn't know meeting Sarah was such an amazing event, but I'm not surprised. Hearing that, it was difficult not to wonder if Ryellie's enjoyment of the story had blocked out all her other reactions. Especially the negative ones.

"It was like that meeting you, too." Benny replied, making Ryellie stop walking for a second. She hadn't been expecting that.

"Are you just trying to charm me, or do you really mean that?"

Though the question was more of a joke, Benny tossed his head upward slightly. As if he was contemplating how to answer. "Well, charming you is against the rule. And while your kind of craziness is different from what I'm used to, I love that you keep me on my toes."

"I'm glad then." Ryellie said, since she thought her brand of craziness could get overwhelming. "Oh, and… just so you know, I think no epic battle is complete without a kiss. Besides, you didn't know me then." Benny spoke before she got a chance to say anything else. Her next thought went unvoiced. _Same goes for that… other kiss._

"Yeah, and now you _really _know me. What's it like finding out that the guy you almost dated is a total screw-up?" In retrospect, Benny had gotten his friends in quite a few situations. He hated looking like an idiot in front of Ryellie.

She was shocked that he would talk bad about himself, and gave him a look that was stern but not mean. "So you accidentally caused a zombie-animal 'apocalypse', brought a camera that makes evil clones to school, created a love potion that backfired, turned your best friend into a werewolf and helped resurrect a psychotic vampire… who _hasn't _done that?"

"Well, I don't know what kind of people you hung out with before you met me…" As Benny trailed off, the two shared a laugh. Even though, in that moment, he realized he was serious. He didn't know who Ryellie's friends were before she moved to Whitechappel. He didn't know much more about her than he had before they entered the forest. But what he did know she wasn't doing that on purpose. It was just her shy nature.

"I can't believe it still hasn't rained _and_ it's not dark yet." She commented, after glancing up at the menacing clouds.

"You want it to be?" Benny knew how much Ryellie disliked the rain, and-after the way she ended up a fledgling-he could bet she wasn't too fond of the darkness either. That was the last thing they needed. "We better get home soon, all kinds of supernatural stuff happens after dark. What would you do if it turns out Rory read the fine print wrong and I, all of a sudden, just… _poofed_ outta here?"

_Panic_. "I know what I _wouldn't_ do." Ryellie answered. "If there's one thing your stories have taught me, 'charging at the enemy' is _never _a good idea." Their second shared laugh was cut short.

"How about you just ask for directions? You know, so you don't have to deal with all that… supernatural stuff?"

Benny and Ryellie whirled around to see Zander standing behind them.

"Were you following us?" Benny asked, betting on 'yes', while Ryellie just stared. Though she wasn't afraid, she didn't have anything to say. She stayed quiet to focus on Zander, and see if he answered honestly.

"No. A guy just can't walk through the forest at night?"

"He could." Benny replied. "But why would he _want to _with the storm that's brewing?"

Zander narrowed his gray eyes slightly, and resisted shaking his head. "What does it matter, anyway? You two need to get home. I know how to get there. That's all this is about."

"You trust him?" Benny whispered to Ryellie, half-hoping Zander would overhear.

Ryellie blinked, thinking it over. "Oddly enough." She admitted.

The two friends followed Zander when he resumed walking, but all the story telling and playful banter stopped. The three walked in silence. In Benny and Ryellie's eyes, Zander was the ultimate buzz kill. But he was also their only hope. So, they couldn't complain.

* * *

><p>"Alright, spit it out."<p>

Rory blinked, confused. "Spit what out?" He asked Erica.

"Whatever's been bothering you all day." _I never thought I could miss hearing your voice_. She added mentally. The two of them had wound up back at the park when the separation spell worked its magic a second time. Since then, they'd been wondering around aimlessly.

Rory heaved a sigh, but made sure it was inaudible, so Erica wouldn't think he was being overly dramatic. "I just miss you." He admitted.

She gave him a look. "_Miss me_? I'm standing right nex-" Erica cut herself off, realizing what Rory meant. She couldn't bring herself to say what she knew he was waiting to hear. Even though the thought was nagging her. _I miss you, too. _"Would we even work?" She asked, not sure how to phrase the question. "Do we even make sense?"

Erica thought Rory had been frowning before, until she saw the look on his face. It was pitiful.

Of all the places for Rory's thoughts to take him, he found himself back on Ryellie's rooftop. Only, his mind's eye didn't see Erica standing in front of him. Rory remembered meeting Ryellie, and how she answered his questions in reverse order. He figured that, in a weird way, doing that took some of the pressure off. He decided to test his theory. He just didn't expect that he'd only get to answer one question.

"No, we don't make sense. At least, not to other people. But I don't care."

Erica wondered if her brain could break trying to comprehend that. She didn't share in Rory's logic: love doesn't have to make sense. He could see that she had no idea what he was talking about, but he wasn't going to clue her in. Otherwise, he really _would _sound overly dramatic.

Erica didn't seem focused on what Rory was saying. Anytime she thought back to the breakup-or anything related to it-she gave herself a migraine.

She changed the subject, knowing he wouldn't be angry. "Don't you owe me dinner?"

"Like a date?" Rory asked, taking on the role of the puzzled one. He thought they were done discussing that, but dinner was what they had planned on the night they broke up.

"_No_…"

Erica's response was an echo of an earlier time. For a millisecond, Rory's mind transported him back to the school's computer room. He did his best to tune that thought out.

Rory was tired, hungry and frustrated. But he wasn't asking for an argument. He let Erica lead the way to _wherever_, hoping the place she had in mind wasn't a zoo. He was craving 'real' food, even if he didn't need it.

As they walked, Rory was still a little bit off balance. His shoulder ended up colliding into Erica's, though not with enough force to have her wobbling.

He waited for what he thought was the inevitable nudge-the repeat of another memory-but it never came.

All Rory got as he regained his balance was a questioning look. The words Erica's eyes spoke were "Are you okay?"

Rory gave a smile in reply. And this time he didn't have to force it.

* * *

><p>"We're home… finally." Benny announced, as he led Ryellie to his front door, figuring she'd enter her house through the back. (After Zander got the two friends out of the forest, he went off somewhere on his own.) Before Benny reached the door, it started drizzling. "So close…"<p>

The drizzle quickly turned into a downpour.

He turned around to see Ryellie, spinning in circles on his front lawn. That sight was something his eyes certainly weren't expecting to be greeted by. "What're you doing?" He asked, under a laugh.

"My dare." She told him, throwing a few random dance moves into the mix.

"You almost seem like you're having fun there." Benny teased, wondering whether or not he should get his camera. He thought it best to check with Ryellie first.

"I _really _hate this." She said, though she was smiling. Then there was no question about it. Benny had to ask, because this dare seemed like painful enough for Ryellie as it was (and the smile was probably a part of it).

"Rory's gonna need proof you took this dare, isn't he?" He didn't want her to think he was just going to leave her out in the rain, but decided he had to get this on film. It was too funny to go unseen.

"Would I even show up?" Ryellie thought aloud, knowing exactly what Benny had in mind, which didn't surprise him. Mirrors were one story, cameras were another. Her tone implied that while she'd be embarrassed to have her performance caught on film, she'd be _more_ upset if that was impossible.

"Only one way to find out."

Ryellie stopped in her tracks. The way Benny said those words indicated that he still remembered when she had. This brought a small smile to her face, and made dancing in the rain a little less torturous.

Inside, Benny struggled to get a clear shot, but he blamed that solely on the rain. As he zoomed in, Ryellie came into focus. Not very clearly, but he could tell she was there. Which meant so could Rory.

The opened door was like a beacon, guiding Ryellie home. She bolted inside, happy the dare was over. Then, she and Benny burst out laughing.

"Déjà vu." He commented, while she looked at her dress pitifully.

"I survived the dare, let's hope the dress does."

"Don't worry." Benny assured her.

They shared a silent wave-something that had become second nature-and Ryellie disappeared out Benny's back door.

* * *

><p>"I'm glad you guys finally made it back home." Ethan said, the following morning in school. "We all thought Mrs. Temberlon really <em>was <em>gonna have a heart attack this time."

_Which means she probably hates me even more now_. Benny thought. What he said out loud was: "I'm glad you're not still bummed about Sarah's stupid dare. Especially since she looked like she wanted to tear that tree limb from limb while you were proposing to it." He ended his sentence with a chuckle Ethan didn't return.

The response Benny got was look, and not an amused one. "Limb from limb? How long have you been sitting on that one?"

"Since you took the dare." It was then that Ethan joined in the laughter, as Sarah rounded the corner.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to come to school." She told the boys.

"Anything to get away from the twins and their arguing?" Ethan asked, feeling her pain.

"They drove me nuts!"

"Welcome to my world." Ethan replied with an eyebrow raise. "Somehow I always get stuck in the middle of whatever they're bickering about."

Sarah nodded, then something crossed her mind. "But, there is one thing I can't complain about when it comes to them. They sure know how to shop." She said, regarding the new outfit Reegan and Rae had given her. "Even if it is strictly from the store they work at."

"Yeah." Ethan agreed. "You know, Reegan asked me if I was jealous that Rory technically got more presents than the rest of us because he likes 'the layered look'."

Sarah giggled, shaking her head slightly over how wonderfully random the twins could be, while Benny realized something.

"Wait a second. We're all wearing the clothes they bought us today?" The three looked between one another, and that was silently confirmed. Though, anyone else would guess the clothes came from their own closets. The twins' apparently had an eye for their friends' individual style. "What, did we all forget to do our laundry?" Their laughter got interrupted.

"I remembered. And I had my dress all ready to go." Something about Ryellie's tone kept the others from turning around. She sounded utterly irritated, which was extremely out of character. "But, somehow, I misplaced it… along with _all my other ones_."

It finally clicked for Ethan. The reason Ryellie was so upset: Rae had gone through with her dare.

He was the first to look at Ryellie. "Wow."

What else could he say? What shocked Ethan was that Ryellie actually let herself be seen wearing something other than a dress-instead of staying home until Rae let her in on where she'd hid them all-but that wasn't the only surprising thing. He'd become so used to seeing Ryellie wearing dresses that this change had sort of a 'Cinderella effect'. Like seeing a tomboy in formal clothes for the first time. He barely recognized her.

Benny and Sarah could say the same. The new look was a definite attention-getter. Strangely enough, since it was so simple. Plain jeans and a long-sleeved blouse of a cranberry color.

Ryellie's hair swooped up into a high ponytail and-naturally-there were boots on her feet. In her ears were barely-noticeable studs.

"Nice jeans." Benny and Sarah said at the same time, exchanging odd glances afterward.

Ryellie felt right at home, despite how awkward she thought she must look. She thanked her friends with a smile, and said: "We're all walking advertisements today."

* * *

><p>"I figured it out."<p>

Rory wondered if this was some sort of new game. It seemed like, lately, he always had to guess what was going on in Erica's head.

She was standing with him by his locker, looking at him in anticipation. She wasn't going to bother with elaborating if he wasn't interested in what she had to say. Which meant the next word was his. "Figured what out?"

"The reason why we can't go out again."

"Oh." There was no way for Rory to keep smiling after hearing that. He was open to discussion, just not this specific topic. But Erica wasn't a mind reader, so she had no way to tell.

"It's like, when people date, they forget they have friends." Her shaking hands were balled into fists, but she quickly calmed herself down. "Think about it: when was the last time you saw Sarah? N_ot **Sarah&Ethan** _just… Sarah."

Erica couldn't remember. But she did remember that when Sarah came up with the idea for everyone to relax after the battle, she passed hew own best friend's name in her contact list to go to Ethan's.

Rory was surprised that he actually _did _have to think about it. "...Last Tuesday."

"My point exactly." Erica answered flatly.

For a second, Rory hated that Erica thought of Ethan and Sarah as a model couple. And the only thing she thought they stood for was something negative: abandonment. Rory felt the same way Erica was feeling. But that was because of _her_, not them.

Rory couldn't say that out loud. It just didn't feel right.

He had to find a way to convince Erica that things could be good again for everyone, including them as a couple (because-at the moment-no one in the group was in the best of places).

Rory was used to thoughts entering his mind and spilling out of his mouth, but finding the right words to say was going to take some time. When he did finally have an answer for Erica's argument, he knew that they would be well worth the wait for both of them.

* * *

><p>"You survived an entire school day in pants, how do you feel?" Benny asked Ryellie as he held the door open for the rest of the group.<p>

"Stupid." She said honestly. Though, 'weird' was a better fitting word. She felt like she had gone through a second transformation, and was a completely different person.

Benny's automatic reaction was to scoff, and then imitate a buzzer. He hated it when Ryellie spoke that way about herself, and vice/versa, that was obvious to everyone. "Wrong. The word I was looking for was 'proud'. Or, ya know, something along the lines of that."

"Sorry, forgot to put my mind-reader's cap on today."

Ethan laughed. H e found it odd that Benny and Ryellie had found a new hobby in teasing one another.

"Wasn't that funny." Benny said, sounding sour.

"It's not what she says, it's how she says it." Ethan clarified, surprised by his best friend's tone of voice. That's when it dawned on him.

All that teasing talk was made to fill a gap.

"I'm outta here." Erica told everyone. "Reegan and Rae sure know how to bring in business." No one had to ask what she meant by that. They knew she was headed off to do more shopping, in case her new outfit 'got lonely'.

"Wait." Rory called, the volume of his voice drowning out Ryellie, who'd said the same thing.

Erica didn't try to hide her annoyed groan. "What?" She hadn't even made it off the curb.

"Party planning." Ryellie reminded her hesitantly.

"You promised you'd help." Sarah chimed in. If anyone could 'guilt Erica into going along with this', it was Sarah.

"And I will, just not today." Or not.

"This is Reegan and Rae we're talking about." Ryellie said, surprised she was talking so fast. That was a nervous habit. "Even if we had their help, the party would take at least a week to plan." No one doubted that, considering the way the twins were.

"So if _I _miss one measly day of planning, it'll be a disaster?" Erica asked, not about to hang around to learn anyone's opinion on that.

"Well… no, but it won't be a special." Ryellie tried to make her words come out strong, but her mood was more sad. "It's their twenty-first birthday." It was plain to see that Ryellie had fully forgiven her cousins when she said that.

"How badly do you want my help?" Erica asked, crossing her arms. She took any opportunity to mess with Ryellie, just to see how she'd react. How far she could push her. "Would you chase me down?" The question seemed unclear even to even Erica, but Ryellie caught her drift.

"Like a race? There's no way I could win."

"Well, maybe if you'd _apply yourself_…" The look Benny gave Erica then was so heated that the others worried they'd catch fire if they stood too close. She ignored him, knowing no matter what she said, he would never punch _her_ in the face. "Try embracing your vampirism, and quit cowering away from a challenge."

Ryellie's eyebrows angled downward, and Ethan told Erica: "You don't wanna make her mad." If something set Ryellie off, she could get pretty fiesty. Grayson had proven that.

"Yeah," Sarah agreed. "just stop it." Sarah taking Ryellie's side-and and only open her mouth to agree with Ethan-was just fuel to the fire.

"What's she gonna do, _whisper _me to death?" Erica didn't have to worry about making sense with that insult, though the entire group would agree that Ryellie rarely got loud.

Erica knew she was getting to Ryellie simply by talking about her like she wasn't there. So, she kept it up. "She couldn't scare a _deer_. Her grandfather's best cooking is tougher than she is."

Ryellie looked like she was about to blow a gasket-unlike her first day that, had it not been for Benny, would've been comparable to a dam breaking-and she hated that she still wanted someone to fight this battle for her. She was silently begging for _anyone _to acknowledge her.

Erica inched closer, just to get up in Ryellie's face. She spoke in a sharp, mocking whisper. "No wonder she doesn't consider herself a vampire, she'd be the world's… worst… one."

The response Erica got was an audible sharpness, the unmistakable sound of fangs shooting out. Ryellie stared daggers… from inches off the ground.

She'd made herself stand taller than Erica.

The others couldn't manage gasps. Erica gaped, Rory and Sarah stared wide-eyed, and Ethan and Benny did what their instinct told them to do. They got Ryellie back on the ground, looking around afterward to make sure no one else had witnessed what went on.

Erica wasn't going to let herself be angry over another one of Ryellie's strengths, despite the unwritten rule that fledglings can't fly. She had to admit the display was impressive, if only to herself. For that, she forgot about the race. And going shopping. "So," She said casually, to her still-stunned friends (Ryellie included). "party planning?"

* * *

><p>"My little cousin probably <em>would <em>take the job… you know, if she wasn't so _scared _of people, but-" Reegan stopped short in her bedroom doorway. "Boss, I'm gonna have to call you back, okay? Bye." The second she hung up her phone, she transitioned back to normal volume. "RORY!"

"_Wazzup_?" He asked her, shining a smile. Though he barely knew what to say. Especially since Rae seemed to be M.I.A. "How was school? And work? And… stuff?"

_"How_ did you get in here?" She demanded to know, stamping her foot for emphasis. It had much less of an effect because of the rug under her feet.

"Victoria let me in." (Rory couldn't very well tell her why, or mention that she caught him in the middle of putting his vampire ninja skills to work.) His smile vanished when he added: "She wants to cut my hair."

Reegan bought it. Probably because both things were true.

"There's _no way _I'm letting that happen, I'll be your bodyguard. Come taste-test this putting I just made!"

"Pudding?" Rory repeated, puzzled. He suddenly had no idea what was going on. (Reegan switched subjects faster than _he _did.) She pulled him toward the kitchen, while he wondered why she disregarded all punctuation aside from exclamation points when she spoke. Rory figured it was the pudding that did that to her.

"_Yes before Miles eats it all let's go_!

Meanwhile, party planning was going on at Ethan's house.

"Erica, your entire 'recommended music list' is made up of Metal bands." Sarah said, obviously not liking that idea.

"_Good _Metal bands." Erica corrected.

"Do Reegan and Rae even _like _Metal?" Ethan asked. Though the question was directed more at Ryellie, who might actually be able to answer.

"_Sure_. They like a little bit of everything." A satisfied smile spread across Erica's face. "But I'm not so sure that they'd want their whole party play list to be made from one genre of music."

Erica mumbled as she put her list down on the table, that Benny's phone proceeded to vibrate off of.

"Avalanche." Ryellie called out as a warning. The phone nearly hit the floor, but Benny caught it with ease. "Interrupted." Ryellie revised, impressed by his quick reflexes.

"Rory says there's a snag in the plan." Benny reported as he read the text message he'd received.

"_Meaning_?" Ethan questioned, since the snag could be a number of things. Everyone looked at Benny at that point, curious about what the story was. Which prompted him to read the text message verbatim.

"Reegan showed up…dragged me away…force-feeding me pudding." Benny faced the screen outward and tilted his cell phone back and forth, as proof that he couldn't make this stuff up.

"Poor guy." Ryellie sympathized.

Ethan didn't see things her way, especially since that 'poor guy' was being treated to dessert at four in the afternoon. "As a vampire 'ninja', he should've been out of there in two seconds flat. He's getting rusty." The others laughed.

Ryellie said: "Take a wild guess at where the twins' address book is." Though she thought she came off sounding mean, no one else seemed to agree. The challenge was for anyone. Sarah spoke up.

"In their desk drawer." She was confident she'd be right. It was logical.

"That _would _make sense." Everyone looked at Ryellie as if that was a given. "When have my cousins ever made sense?"

"Do they make a game out of hiding it?" Benny inquired. He didn't understand that, or why the group hadn't just sent Ryellie to get the book intsead of Rory, but he was about to.

"Around this time of year, they do." Ryellie almost didn't say any more, but staying silent made her feel like she wasn't being fair to her friends. So, she explained herself. "Reegan and Rae love to party, but they hate when people go through a big hassle to throw a party for them. I feel like this is a big birthday, it deserves to be celebrated."

"They don't know about this?" Benny asked, unable to resist smiling. (Ryellie had never said so specifically, but he'd picked up on the hints she'd dropped.) He still couldn't believe Ryellie kept secrets, but the surprise party was a good one.

Ethan and Sarah couldn't believe the twins' fought over a party they didn't even want to be thrown for them_._

"They'll know once their birthday comes." Ryellie replied.

A thought crossed Ethan's mind, and he had to speak it. "Ryellie, if Rory's still currently being fed pudding against his will-" His question was interrupted briefly by a chuckle, before he continued on. "doesn't that mean you'll have to… sneak into your own house?"

If either of the twins saw their cousin, they would immediately become suspicious.

Ryellie realized Ethan was right, but that's not how she worded her response. "Nothing this weird ever happened to me before I met you guys."

Benny gave Ryellie a playful nudge and sent her a sweet smile. "See what you were missing?…"

**Thanks for reading, PLEASE REVIEW! What party planning mishaps do you wanna see? All ideas are greatly appreciated, I'll update ASAP! =]**


	11. Suspicions

**I'm so happy to (finally) update. A big thank you to all my readers for the amazing support and feedback!**

**I do not own My Babysitter's A Vampire. **

"Why am I here again?"

Ryellie glanced back at Erica, who was standing a floor below her on the ground. "I'm new at this," She answered, inching her cousins' bedroom window open. "I could fall."

"And you're gonna rely on me to catch you when you do?" Erica asked, crossing her arms.

Ryellie didn't have much of a choice, with Rory trapped inside and Sarah driving around town trying to find a hall to have the party in. She smiled at the question, hoping it was meant as a joke.

Erica was starting to think Ryellie took all the fun out of teasing her, when she noticed the freak-of-a-fledgling looking back at her again. "What now? You can't tell me you're afraid of heights, you hang out on the roof."

"I was just thinking you should probably text Rory; Let him know we're here in case Reegan goes upstairs and he has to stall."

"Why do I have to do it, is your phone broken?" Erica stared at Ryellie, puzzled when she started laughing.

"You think I'd actually own a reason to talk more?" Ryellie was warming up to the idea of her own phone, but she wasn't exactly there yet.

Rolling her eyes, Erica pulled out her cell phone while Ryellie crawled through the window.

In the dining room, Rory was too full to function. Reegan was talking about something, but he couldn't register the words. Until she said: "Ooh, look, you got a text from Erica."

Reegan didn't look the least bit shocked when Rory ripped his phone from her grasp, before she had a chance to read anything.

Rory read the message as quick as 'vampirish-ly' possible, and promptly deleted it.

"Well, what did it say?" Reegan asked in her usually demanding tone.

"Where's Rae?"

"It said 'Where's Rae'?" Reegan didn't know what to be more baffled by, the question or the fact that Rory asked it in the shortest sentence she'd ever heard him speak.

Rory laughed, which wasn't a very pleasant experience with the way his stomach felt. "No, I'm just curious."

"I'm curious what the text message said. You looked kinda stunned and Erica already dumped you, so it can't be worse than that. Can it?"

"The breakup was a mutual thing." Rory insisted.

"Okay, whatever you say." Reegan replied, sounding doubtful. "Now, can you you quit avoiding my question?"

"Is there any more pudding?" Rory was running out of things to stall with, but he shocked himself asking that. Even though Reegan hated how he kept changing the subject, she had to wonder why he went that route.

"You want _more_ pudding?" She asked, eyes wide. "I figured you were ready to explode."

"Does that mean there's no more pudding?"

"Yeah, there's more." Reegan said slowly, raising her eyebrows at Rory as she got up from the table. "Sit tight, I'll get you some."

The second Reegan entered the kitchen, Rory got another text from Erica. A single word, that might as well have been 'freedom'.

CLEAR.

"Never mind." Rory called out as he slipped his phone into his pocket, a smile spreading across his face. "I gotta get goin'."

He was gone before Reegan could say goodbye. She stood in the doorway with an oversized pudding cup in both her hands. "Fine, more for me ya... lunatic. And by the way, a 'thank you' would've been nice!"

* * *

><p>Back at Ethan's house, not much progress had been made with the planning. He addressed the others in his living room with the task at hand. "We've got two options. We can either get everything without a theme done first, or we can decide on one now and do all the planning around it."<p>

"Don't we need Benny and Sarah for the second option?" Rory asked, which is exactly what the girls were wondering.

"They already made theme suggestions before they left: Seeing Double and Night & Day."

Rather than an understanding nod, Rory sent Ethan another perplexed expression. "But, the way I see it, the twins aren't so different. Rae's like a... mild version of Reegan."

"And what are we supposed to do if we go with Seeing Double when it comes to decorations?" Erica questioned, obviously irritated. "Buy two of everything?"

Ethan didn't look like he was up for that, either. "We'll pick a theme later." He replied lamely. Before he was through with his sentence, Erica tossed him the address book and began dragging Ryellie away, since the two of them were closest to the door.

"Let's go find a cake recipe." She wanted this to be over with, and she wasn't the only one.

* * *

><p>"This place looks like Halloween." Sarah commented, after taking one look at the catering hall in front of her, through the driver's side window of her car. Every other place she and Benny had gone to was booked solid, so they were left with no other option.<p>

"I guess it's a good thing we found it when we did, then. We'll have time to clean the place up before the party." Benny said, as he got out of the car, Sarah following reluctantly.

The place looked like it had once been elegant, before it started falling apart and vines and moss grew around it wildly. "If no one's had a party, or a wedding, or a... _anything_ here in years, I wouldn't be surprised." What _did_ surprise Sarah was that it hadn't been closed down. "It's not exactly inviting." She sounded as disgusted as she looked when she said that.

"It just needs some fixin' up." Benny reasoned. "Between my two spell books, I'm sure we can find someway to pull it off."

Sarah gave Benny a look. "You wanna add magic to creepy, when is that _ever_ a good idea?"

"The twins are shape shifters, they won't mind." Benny figured they'd be too upset that their friends threw them a party to yell at them for how they went about it. "Plus, everyone else invited lives here. Even if they aren't anything out of the ordinary, I'm sure they've seen enough that is. They should be used to the unexplainable."

Sarah almost laughed, but a shooting pain went through her neck. She winced sharply, and involuntarily bared her fangs.

"Or not." Benny practically yelped. "Maybe Reegan and Rae will be perfectly happy having the party in their backyard." (At least that way, everyone would go through less trouble to put the party together.)

"Not you." Sarah replied, sounding just as scared.

* * *

><p>"Don't you find it ironic that <em>we<em> ended up paired together for this?" Ethan asked, as he checked another item off a list that seemed a mile long. He dropped the pack of invitations into the shopping cart, while Rory pondered his question.

He seemed to be deep in thought about it, but all he came back with was: "No. Why?"

"We both haven't been in the best of moods lately. That can't be good when we're trying to plan a party."

"I'm not moody." Rory insisted. Though he was making the argument from the floor.

Ethan stared down at him with an eyebrow raised, and offered a helping hand, not even bothering to ask what he tripped over. He couldn't hold back the question he did wind up asking though, with the record amount of times Rory had fallen lately.

"Does heartbreak mess with your equilibrium?"

Rory took no offense to that, but he couldn't answer. After he let Ethan help him to his feet, something had him distracted. He looked like he couldn't breathe. "What is it?" Ethan asked, clearly concerned.

"I thought I saw-" Rory cut himself off. "Forget it." Even though he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, he looked downright horrified.

That wasn't something Ethan could simply ignore. He placed a comforting hand on Rory's shoulder, about to apologize for the comment he just made.

But suddenly, the scene in front of him was inside the Temberlon and Newbold residence. The family stood around the dining room table-which had a meal fit for Thanksgiving set out on it-dressed to the nines. The adults were smiling politely, while the girls just stared, their eyes glazing over.

"What did you see?" Rory questioned, calling Ethan back to reality.

He blinked, trying to put the vision into words. "I wish I knew."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Ryellie and Erica were sneaking around Ryellie's kitchen, in search of a cookbook.<p>

Reegan was upstairs, but if they made enough noise, that was sure to change.

"Is it a hobby within this family, to hide everything?" Erica growled.

"You and I both know that Simon's my family's one sane man." Ryellie joked.

"If that's true, where's the cookbook? And why can't we just buy a cake?"

"My family alone has too many mouths for a store bought cake to feed." Ryellie forgot to mention that Simon would surely throw a fit over anything store bought that someone in the family could've made themselves. Erica gave a reluctant nod, and Ryellie turned around toward the fridge. "Found it." She announced in a whisper, relieved.

The textbook thick book sat atop the fridge, pushed toward the back. Ryellie swallowed nervously before flying up to where the book was, trying not to think about what happened last time she was up there. The cookbook was heavier than it looked, which messed with Ryellie's balance. She knew she wouldn't be able to stay up in the air much longer, but didn't have enough time to warn Erica about that. She and the cookbook hit the ground with a thud.

In a flash, Erica was standing above her. "Why does your fridge have to be so tall?" _She_ could barely reach the spot where the book had been.

"Yes, I'm fine." Ryellie replied teasingly. Though she was thinking despite what she could say about Erica, she would never leave her hanging. With a roll of her eyes, Erica held out her hand. Surprised, Ryellie took it and got back on her feet.

"This makes us even for the hug." The two girls shared a laugh. (They figured they only had to worry if they heard Reegan descending the stairs.)

"Ry and Erica laughing together? Miracles do happen."

"Rae, how do you do that?" Erica wondered aloud, hoping neither of the others had seen her jump in surprise.

"I live with her and I still haven't figured it out." Ryellie said, picking up the cookbook.

"Why do you guys need that?" Rae asked after a light laugh. She knew her cousin had most of Simon's recipes memorized.

"Erica wants to see some of Simon's garlic-free recipes. To try something different every time she gets a craving for 'regular' food. She's gonna make copies." Ryellie explained.

"Cool." Rae said. Without questioning that, she walked of to her room, even though she thought that sounded rather dorky. And very unlike Erica.

She had to agree, even without being able to read Rae's thoughts. She turned to Ryellie, glaring. "Learn to lie better and quit making me look weird."

Ryellie felt deserving of that, and responded after a sigh. "Noted."

* * *

><p>Rae burst into her room, making Reegan spill her makeup. "Yep, I always thought the floor could use some color." She joked flatly, sneering at her twin. It was only then she noticed how bug-eyed Rae looked, and concern set in. "You okay?"<p>

"Ryellie and Erica are bonding over a cookbook." Rae whispered sharply.

Reegan blinked, feeling lost. She hadn't even known anyone was in the house, but she didn't understand why that was such a big deal. "Uhh, translation please?"

"Something is _definitely_ up..."

**Thanks for reading, PLEASE review! All ideas are greatly appreciated. Possible themes? Ways the party planning can go wrong? Let me know what you think, a little inspiration goes a long way. I'll update ASAP! =]**


	12. Fingers Crossed

**It's FINALLY done! SUPER sorry for the long wait. This is for all my readers. Shoutout to LessThanThreexoxo and The Poet And The Writer, for giving ideas.**

**I do not own My Babysitter's a Vampire. Or Alice in Wonderland**.

"It's easier to keep the party a secret if we book this place." Sarah said, shaking off the fear she felt.

"True," Benny agreed, though he didn't sound enthusiastic. That was a challenge with Sarah's telling neck pain. "but what if Jesse crashes the party?"

"Let's hope he's not strong enough to not need an invite."

His scoff in reply gave her confidence. "I doubt he would be. I think he met his match with Grayson."

While hearing that name was never comforting, Sarah knew that if Grayson was keeping Jesse busy, neither of them could bother her and her friends. She nodded in the direction of the catering hall. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>A frown formed on Ethan's face when he saw his pen run out of ink mid-way through making his last check off the shopping list. "I swear, this was new when we started." He told Rory, who hoped that was only a joke.<p>

Pushing the cart wasn't as much of a struggle as Ethan thought it would be, but after the experience he'd had, he expected to never want to step foot in a store again.

"Think it was anything to worry about?" Rory asked curiously, not having to specify what_ it_ was, even though Ethan hadn't talked about his latest vision since admitting he didn't know what it meant.

"Hope not." He mumbled, hoping he had just perceived things wrong. And if the vision was a reason to worry, Ethan hoped he'd figure that out soon enough.

Just as the checkout lanes were in the boys' line of sight, someone blocked their path.

He stood there picking at his black nailpolish, as if he didn't notice he was in anyone's way. Rory swallowed a sigh rather than a gasp. He was more disappointed than scared that he hadn't been hallucinating before.

"What do you want?" Ethan asked, thinking Grayson wouldn't be moronic enough to start another supernatural fight in a public place.

"I wouldn't be so nasty to someone who's trying to ask for forgiveness." Grayson warned in a whisper.

"After what you did, you don't deserve it." His voice was on the verge of monotone, and he hoped it was menacing enough to make Grayson get the message.

Though nothing seemed to ever be good enough for him.

"Please?" He said, rather pathetically. To the point where it shocked the two friends. Grayson turned his attention to Rory. "You're still standing. And I bet you both know I never meant to mess up so bad." Ethan and Rory looked at each other incredulously, amazed Grayson hadn't realized he crossed the line. "I certainly wouldn't have done it if I'd known then that I actually have a purpose in life." He added. Though he hadn't meant to.

"What pur-" Ethan cut himself short, looking up to find Grayson gone. He was glad, too. Glad enough to joke. "I thought only you did that."

Rory laughed. "Only I can do it so awesomely." He clarified.

Playfully shaking his head, Ethan resumed walking and Rory followed closely behind. When they went to pay, they were intercepted. Right away, they knew Grayson wasn't trying to buy their forgiveness. They turned around to find that confirmed.

"Mr. Temberlon." Ethan said, clearly caught off guard. In response, the man gave a cross between a friendly smile and a sneaky grin. Something Ethan bet Ryellie had seen on the rare occasion she wanted to buy herself something.

"We got this." Rory insisted. He and Ethan had agreed to split the bill, and he didn't feel comfortable letting Noah take care of it. It wasn't his choice, apparently.

"I'm the one who wrote that list. I'm gonna pay for everything on it." Noah insisted. "Thanks for doing the shopping for me, guys."

"No problem." The boys replied, feeling guilty they hadn't gotten the job done before he showed up. Everyone had their part in the planning. Ethan and Rory wanted to do their fair share.

* * *

><p>"Why are you girls looking at me like I just transformed into some animal in plain sight?" Grace questioned from the driver's seat of her SUV.<p>

"This is a surprise." Reegan replied from the passenger's seat, putting an odd stress on the last word of her sentence and squaring her eyes at her cousin, who was standing by her window.

"Not really." Rae countered, her voice quiet. She felt distant, even though she was only in the back seat. Sitting behind her aunt rather than her sister. "Aunt Grace always goes out to lunch after she finishes a book." The questioning look she'd given Grace resurfaced when she finished. "She just usually never takes us along."

"I _usually _finish a book in the same place I start it." Grace pointed out, as if that was her justification for what the twins regarded as odd behavior. "This time it's different. And I could always use the company."

"So could Rae." Reegan thought aloud. "She's been acting all weird lately."

"_In_ the car." Rae reminded her twin, with an irritated tone. It was a strange feeling for her: being frustrated that Reegan would act like she wasn't there, while her thoughts were somewhere else.

"Yeah, and how come you weren't in our car when we came back from work? I had to find out from the boss that you'd already left."

Ryellie's focus shifted to Rae, and she saw her bite her lip in nervousness. Her concern was obvious as she waited to hear what Rae would say.

"I... went to the airport." She saw Grace and Reegan's eyes bulge in the rearview mirror. "I was thinking of going home." From that, they knew she had to have been thinking about doing so for awhile. It wasn't something Rae could or would do on a whim, and it wasn't cheap either. "Even if it was just for a day." Out loud, it sounded crazier than when Rae had first thought it.

Though they agreed on that, the others looked like they understood. Unlike Ryellie.

For Rae, home was wherever Walter and her other friends were. Ryellie couldn't say the same. She'd been neutral to the many places she'd lived in the past, but she truly loved Whitechapel and the friends the town had brought her. So, she spoke up, sounding rather hurt. "Home is here."

Reegan let out an exaggerated sound, somewhere between a scoff and a laugh. "Well, _that _was incredibly cheesy."

Rae reached over diagonally to give her sister's arm a playful but defensive tap. As expected, Reegan rubbed the spot as if trying to dull the pain that wasn't there, all while glaring. Rae ignored her overdramatizing, and sent Ryellie a look that told her to take no notice. (Especially since that comment came from someone with a soft spot for romance. Though Ryellie hadn't only counted Benny as the reason for calling Whitechapel home. And their romance had been rather short-lived.)

"Sometimes," Rae admitted, "I like cheesy."

Ryellie put on a smile, and opened and closed the garage door as she went back into the house, knowing that most likely an argument had broken out between the twins, and Grace would be too preoccupied with trying to settle it to do so herself.

When she re-entered the kitchen, she saw Erica looking through the cookbook with Simon.

"We won't need to make the cake until a few days before the party, but we can definitely pick out the recipe and find our ingredients now."

"Whatever gets me outta here sooner." Erica laughed.

"Stop acting like you're not having fun."

"How can you not have fun with the food Simon makes?" Ryellie asked, standing at her grandfather's side.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." He agreed nonchalantly. "Even if I have no taste for plasma."

Erica chuckled. "It amazes me that you know the truth about us when Ryellie's parents don't."

Simon shrugged. "Sometimes they know more they let on. But I think if Grace _did _know she'd... she'd have a breakdown."

"_Simon_." His granddaughter scolded softly. She didn't like when he joked like that. And she didn't like being reminded she was keeping her vampirism a secret. She hadn't reacted well to the shapeshifter secret. She felt hypocritical.

Simon got her mind off that when he opened the cabinet above the stove, to see if there were any boxes of cake batter in there. When he did, his eyebrows drew together. "Who cooked all the pudding?"

* * *

><p>From that point on, everyone's focus had shifted completely to party planning. The adults found it hard to remember they had jobs to do at times, being that they served as distractions for the twins. Charlotte came up with the idea to throw her daughters off by having everyone suggest other ideas for parties they could have. The twins outright refused each option, and were convinced their family no longer had anything to hide. Throughout this time, the adults made sure to keep them away from the catering hall, which the kids decided to fix up without using magic. A compromise Benny made to calm Sarah's nerves.<p>

In the end, the place still looked like Halloween. Only difference was that it was supposed to. Not being able to settle on a theme made the decorations seem creepy. There was a hope that the twins would find them as random as they were themselves. Once they stopped yelling at everyone.

Sarah still felt like something was missing, with the party only a few days away. She was looking through her closet for something to wear-with no intention of buying anything new considering the twins had never seen her formal clothes-when an idea came to her. She quickly dialed Ethan, and caught him in the middle of one of his mini-freakouts.

"Sarah, please tell me we didn't run into _another _problem." (Problems seemed to multiply like rabbits all throughout that week.) "Are we short a chair? Did Benny drop the cake again? Is the hall on fire?"

Instead of dismissing his concerns right away, she answered: "I don't know; I can't see it from here."

He laughed, and his worry dissolved. "What's up?"

Sarah's idea had begun to pan out in her head, and that brought a smile to her face. "By any chance, do you still have those fake fangs?"

* * *

><p>"What if they don't go with me?" Ryellie asked, feeling out of place. She was the only one of her friends not in costume, but she could deal with that later.<p>

Benny frowned, thinking that her tone reflect self-doubt. Pondering it more, he realized she was only worried that the twins would somehow still be suspicious.

He said: "Don't worry about it. This isn't exactly an offer they can turn down." In the middle of his sentence, the brim of his tophat slowly slipped down to rest on the bridge of his nose. Ryellie let out a barely audible annoyed whine seeing this, since she was the one who picked out the hat. She stopped being angry with herself when she heard Benny laugh. He used one of his white gloved hands to push the hat back into place, and wondered if his head honestly looked that big to others.

"The girls'll be too busy pinching themselves to question anything." Ethan agreed. In fact, he figured if there was anything to question, it'd be his costume.

He wore baggy, mismatched clothes and his shoes were so worn there was a hole in one, and the sole was nearly completely detached from the other. His purposely unkempt hair was mostly hidden under a patched up hat. Which looked like it'd had a spat with what was left of Reegan and Rae's superglue and lost. Resting on that hat was one of the only telling clues of his ensemble: the crystal ball-which was actually plastic-that he knew he'd get tired of carrying around all night if it hadn't been for Benny's idea. To top it all off, tarot cards were tucked in Ethan's torn sleeve.

"I don't have to do anymore stalling, do I?" Rory-dressed as a sophisticated looking vampire-asked cautiously, as if he was trying to will the answer to be a negative. Reegan had given him so much of a pudding overdose, he didn't want to go near anything she dished out again.

Ethan glanced at his watch. "No, but Ryellie, I don't think there's a way you can have enough time to get the twins before the guests arrive." As much as they were against a party being thrown for them, the group knew Reegan and Rae would flip of people started partying without them.

"Yes there is." Benny assured the others, with a devious sort of pride in his voice. "I've been practicing this one." He was through reciting the teleportation spell before anyone could object. Not that Ryellie had any doubts.

* * *

><p>The twins had literally barricaded themselves in their room, with the help of their desk. They had vowed to each other not to go anywhere, thinking they'd only find a party they didn't ask for if they did. Ryellie knew that, but it didn't stop her. She knocked on the door, tapping out a butchered version of <em>Happy Birthday <em>that she made a disgusted face at.

Reegan gave a flat: "What?" as reply.

In contrast, Rae sing-songed: "Who is it?" Which was how Ryellie realized that they were part of the barricade, sitting on the desk.

"Who do you think it is? Who knocks besides Mom?" Ryellie sounded just plain confused. She was sure she didn't use the same amount of force that Grace did when she knocked. Were they expecting somebody else?

The girls pretended to have their feelings hurt, despite their cousin's gentle tone. "Oh, now we're _definitely _not letting you in." Reegan decided. "No matter what you say."

By the sound of that, it seemed like they were determined to waste the day away. Ryellie thought it may not just take her original idea to get them out. She needed a solid selling point. "Oh, okay. You don't have to let me in. I just wanted to tell you that I made you some dresses. If you guys like them, I'll make some more that you can sell in the store."

Almost immediately, Ryellie heard her cousins scramble to push the desk back where it belonged. Reegan hurried to the door, while Rae put the laptop back in its place. When the door opened, Ryellie saw Rae holding a piece of paper with a longing expression in her eyes. She placed it next to the laptop and quickly joined her sister at the door. They wore twin grins that would put the Cheshire cat to shame.

Ryellie then remembered what she hadn't had a chance to say all day long. "Happy Birthday."

"It _certainly _is." Reegan agreed, exaggerating a nod

With a giggle, Rae replied: "Thanks."

Ryellie led her cousins into her sewing room, where she had two dresses hanging on the doorknob. Reegan and Rae could tell right away that she had made the dresses with them in mind. (They didn't fit their cousin's style.)

Reegan's dress was strapless, with a slit on the side. The colors were inspired by a lion, since she always acted as the leader. A mix of golds, browns, tans and even specks of white. She had to look close to find shades of faded pink

Rae's dress had a shorter hem, and off-the-shoulder straps. The look of it was modeled after a snow leopard cub, since she was happy being looked at as the baby of her immediate family. (The twins were separated in age by mere minutes, but their differences were greater than that amount of time.) The pattern of Rae's dress reflected her gentle nature in a way. The white and brown colors and black markings were toned down a few notches. There were patches of blue in the mix, only visible to keen eyes.

Ryellie presented the gifts to her cousins silently, handing the girls their respective hangers. For a moment, they were in awe. Then Reegan spoke.

"Wow. I thought we were the only ones good at pegging people's styles. Good job Ry, thanks."

"Yeah, this is awesome." Rae told her.

"I'm glad you like them. Now can you put them on so we can go dancing?"

Rae widened eyes lit up. "_That's_ what you want?" She asked, with a smile. That seemed to be contagious. If only for Ryellie. Reegan's face contorted, and she placed her palm on her cousin's forehead.

"I'm not running a fever." Ryellie insisted with a playful roll of her eyes. "I'm trying to do something special but uncomplicated for your birthday. Since that's how you guys like it."

With that, the birthday girls went to change.

* * *

><p>"Hey,Benny." Ethan called.<p>

Benny stopped setting one of the tables-which was really a job for the catering hall employees anyway-and walked over. "What's up?"

Ethan looked up from the bubble machine he had set out on a table toward the back of the room. "Do you know what happened to the instructions for this?"

Benny gave his friend a pitiful look, and a wave of his hand. "I threw them out; why would we need _instructions _for a bubble machine?"

"So we know how to operate it." Ethan answered, clearly annoyed. He was having trouble doing that. "Maybe I shouldn't have asked for your opinion on which one to get, since this so complicated."

Benny nodded sarcastically. "Oh, right. 'Cause I could never have a good idea. That's your department." The way he motioned to Ethan, it seemed like he was pantomiming throwing him across the room.

"Watch it." Ethan warned.

"You're the one who insulted me! You didn't even know they liked bubbles."

Ethan threw Benny an odd look. "Who doesn't like bubbles?" he asked, angrily pushing a green button to find that it did absolutely nothing.

"Oh, I don't know, the bubble intolerant?"

Watching from the background, Rory shook his head. Seeing Benny try-and fail-to turn the machine on with the red button, he wondered how much longer he could allow this to continue.

"No," Ethan said "it's gotta be the green button."

"Since that worked so well the first time." Benny replied, in a mocking tone Rory couldn't help laughing at.

"Green means 'go'!" Ethan reasoned.

"Well, red means... 'ready'!" Benny stammered. With that, the boys' argument turned into a storm cloud of unintelligible, overlapping, angry sentences.

Rory stepped between them, pushing a button. The outpouring of bubbles brought the quarreling to a dead stop.

With a smirk, Rory said: "Yellow, for 'you're both wrong'." He walked off, to get back to work attaching balloons to all the weights.

After exchanging surprised and sheepish glances, Ethan and Benny chorused a: "Thanks!"

* * *

><p>Ryellie and her cousins got in the car, and Reegan drove to where she was instructed.<p>

The twins' eyebrows only raised once they pulled up to the place, and were given headbands with ears that matched their dresses. With a roll of her eyes, Reegan turned toward her sister. "Tell me we didn't fall for this."

"Wish I could." Rae answered, stepping out of the car.

"You're actually going in?" Reegan asked, not budging. Surprisingly, she sounded more curious than angered.

"They already went through all the trouble."

Looking at Ryellie, Reegan sounded downright disappointed. "You guys are such bad listeners."

"Yeah?" Ryellie said, as if she hadn't realized she, the rest of her family, and her friends had ignored the twins' orders. "Well, I hope you thank us for that later." She said, right before she got out of the car and jogged to catch up with Rae.

Reegan eyed herself in the rearview, caught in one of the rare times she didn't have her sister following her every move. Her sadness faded along her frustration, and she found herself genuinely curious to see what was going on inside, where she went to join the others.

* * *

><p>By the time Reegan got inside the hall, Ryellie had already gone to change. Rae waved her sister over to where she was headed to meet their friends, knowing they only had a few minutes before the party-goers showed up.<p>

"Hey, guys." Rae greeted happily. Sarah and Jane had joined the boys at that point. Sarah's vampire costume had a splash of glitz. Her dress was metallic black, and her red eyeshadow had some sparkle. Jane was dressed as a witch-one of the first magical beings that came to mind that had a costume that was easy to acquire. Her black dress had a green smoke pattern that made it look like a brewing cauldron. The pointed purple hat she wore had a spiderweb design.

Reegan addressed each of the group by name when she caught up to them. "Hi Ethan, Sarah, Benny, Jane." She smiled smugly at the end of her sentece.

Rory wasn't smiling. (He had gotten over his bad mood, and it seemed like she was trying to drag him back into it.) "You forgot me." He pointed out, though he was sure she had done so on purpose.

"Just like you forgot to say 'thank you' and 'goodbye' to me when I made you pudding?"

Instead of getting upset, Rory laughed at how Reegan talked like she had done that especially for him. "Thanks, bye." That earned him a playful eyeroll.

Rae was more interested in his costume than the pudding incident she wasn't around for. "Rory, did you do that yourself?" She asked him. He looked almost zombified, without the festering flesh. Insanely pale, except around the eyes, where black was smudged. He nodded happily in response, showing her his hands, which were done in a similar fashion. "Ooh, so creative." She complimented, playing with the pockets of his vest upon discovering they were real, and not just sewn in. His words of thanks were nearly drowned out by the sound of his happy laughter. His eyes were laughing too, which is what made Rae notice Rory had contacts in. Her mind equated the colors with grapefruit: one pink, and one pale yellow. (The result of him being indecisive.) "A fashion-forward vampire with butterfly eyes." She marveled. This had the whole group laughing.

Rory's creativite act ended up sparking another one, and Jane brought out one of her many stuffed rabbits to be the last piece of Benny's costume. And that gave him an idea.

* * *

><p>"Did I miss anything?" Ryellie asked, with the slight lisp her plastic fangs gave her. She was tugging at one of the puffy sleeves of her ankle length gown, trying to put it in place. It was simple, even for her standards, because she threw it together after making dresses for Sarah and Erica. (Her cousins' dresses were made after the shapeshifter secret got out, so she could get rid of her frustrations. She was happy they went to good use.)<p>

"Just Reegan being Reegan, and Rae's _utter fascination_ with Rory's costume." Benny informed, still a bit surprised at that last part. He turned to see that Ryellie's costume didn't give off a vampire vibe. It was silvery gray. And the clear headband she had on came with one small accessory: a lilac. He expected to feel a twinge of pain seeing that, but didn't. He wasn't numb to it either. For some reason, he found himself smiling. "Oh, and I thought of another trick for my act, thanks to Jane."

"Cool." She complimented, taking an excited yet cautious step forward when she spotted Grandma-dressed up in a star-filled wizard's robe and matching hat-walking through the door. Since one step was all Ryellie managed before she tripped and nearly face planted. Bulgy-eyed, Benny caught her with a second to spare. She groaned at herself quietly and asked Benny: "Do you ever get tired of that?"

"Nope!" He responded happily, with no hesitation. "But I don't think high heels are your thing."

"That's what I thought," She admitted. "and this proves it."She took the heels off, and was about to go find her boots when Benny stopped her.

"The floor's so clean you could eat off of it. Why don't you just go barefoot for a while?"

"A barefoot vampire?" She asked, intrigued by that.

"Sorta makes sense." Benny said with a shrug. "Especially since you can _fly_." To emphasize his point, he picked Ryellie up and swung her back and forth for a moment, making her laugh. After that, they both practically sprinted to meet up with Grandma.

They greeted her with smiles and hugs, as the party-goes flooded the room. They were too preoccupied with talking to her to notice that they recognized the DJ's voice.

When the rest of Ryellie's family arrived, they stuck out like sore thumbs, since they were out of custome. (Unless they came dressed as their own clones.)

Grace was the first to approach the twins, who were being showered with greetings, birthday wishes, compliments and gifts. "Happy birthday girls. Are you two enjoying yourselves so far?"

"Yeah." They reluctantly chorused in response.

"I'm glad." Grace replied before she went off to dance Noah.

Rae looked at the happy crowd in front of her. It was made up of coworkers, frequent customers turned friends, classmates and club members, and people from around town. The urge to frown tugged at her lips, because she knew there was no one among them from back home. Her longing to see Wisconsin again wouldn't leave her alone. Because of this, she didn't notice a friend of hers who _wasn't _out on the dancefloor.

In fact, it was Reegan who caught sight of Rory-looking like an island compared to the sea of others-watching the doorway intently. Sarah was soon to separate from the crowd, to usher him over toward them.

"Maybe something came up." She told him uneasily, considering what happened the last time Erica was held up. She worried for both of her friends, but that feeling subsided when she got a text.

She held her phone up so Rory could read: _On my way. Slowly but surely. _He could only imagine the mocking tone Erica meant that to be in, and slowly, his smile came back.

* * *

><p>Ryellie's feet had found their way back into boots, since she didn't want to be barefoot at the table. The food was good, and gobbled down quickly by all, so they could get back to talking and dancing. (And avoid Lucas's long-winded speech about how little girls grew up so fast.)<p>

Ethan and Sarah seemed to have a silent pact that as long as one of them was on the dancefloor, the other would be too. They were two of the many people who seemed to be kept there by some magnetic force.

"_Wow." _Came a random outburst from Ethan, during one of their countless dances. At first, Sarah thought he was talking about how neither one of them seemed to run out of energy. But she had to make sure. Rather than look at him questioningly, she turned in the direction he was facing: toward the front door.

Ethan had said the same thing about her, and she couldn't blame him for repeating it. "I agree." Sarah told him with a laugh.

"I third that." Benny chimed in.

Ryellie tried to add to the conversation, but ended up muddling through her sentence. "I, uh... me... fourth." She shook her head, making the others laugh along with her. "I should've just said 'yeah'."

The music stopped, and Rory turned his attention to whatever it was his friends were talking about. (Since his face was made up, that hid the color that flooded his cheeks.) It was hard not to notice everyone had done the same. An instantaneous hush swept over the place, and everyone's stares were directed at the doorway. It reminded him of when Cinderella showed up at the ball.

If Cinderella were a goth vampire, wearing a flowing, full length lace-trimmed red and black satin gown adorned with silver buttons.

Erica loved all the attention, but it gave her the sudden temptation to fix her loosely curled hair, which was already perfectly in place. She soaked in the compliments she got from friends and strangers alike.

"Next time you make me a dress like this, you should figure out a preparation time." She told Ryellie.

She only raised her eyebrows in reply, though she admitted to herself it must be difficult to get ready for a party without a reflection.

The music started up again, and Simon walked up to the kids then, with a relieved smile on his face. "I was wondering when you'd get here. I have to give credit is due." As he said this, Miles wheeled a towering twenty one layer cake-that the twins couldn't help but squeal upon seeing-over to the group. (Granted, the cake wasn't as thick as it was tall, and the top layer was a cupcake just big enough to fit their names on. They didn't even get candles to blow out.) Erica had only gotten seconds of fame, because nearly everyone's eyes were on the cake by that point. It was pretty amazing for a last minute replacement.

"The cake," Simon gestured to it, going from bottom to top. "was this lovely lady's idea." Instead of pointing at her like he did the cake, Simon motioned to Erica with both hands. The crowd clapped for her then. Only the sensitive ears of the vampires picked up that Reegan gave a joking roar instead. They stifled their laughter to keep from looking like the Captains of Awkward, and Simon continued. "Please refer to the chart to find your favorite flavor. And enjoy."

"Reegan and Rae should get the first piece." Grace interjected. Gladly, Simon handed them the cupcake.

"Smear your names for good luck!" Charlotte said. Earning an odd look from Grace, and a loving one from Lucas. The girls went to take the suggestion eagerly. They stopped at the last second, and smeared each other's names instead. A few 'Aw's were heard from the crowd, and then laughter erupted when they split the cupcake and devoured it in one bite.

"I call next piece." Ethan, Benny and Ryellie's eyes darted up, hearing the DJ's voice clearly for the first time that night. He had left his post, and had his hands on the twins shoulders as he stood between them. He brought his sunglasses, part of his costume as-what else, but-a DJ, to rest on top of his head. There was no mistaking those gray eyes.

"Hey, Stockboy." Reegan greeted, making those gray eyes roll playfully.

"Is that my name now, _Clerk_?" He teased back. He confused them when he added: "It's better than Jerkface."

"Who invited him?" Ethan asked, shocked. The twins seemed to be the only ones who knew him, but they hadn't even known about the party.

"We gotta start comparing notes." Benny decided after a short sigh.

Ryellie answered him with a giggle of agreement. She had never actually told her cousins who Zander was. The only mention he ever got was when she'd said Benny stood up for her because of him, and at that point he was known as 'some guy'. Ironically, Reegan and Rae were the ones who nicknamed him Jerkface.

Erica was looking at Zander too, trying to place where she knew him besides school. She mulled over that while he savagely scarfed down his cake. Once he was done, and made sure to clean his face, he filled in the blank for her.

"Hey, Erica. You probably don't remember me. I'm Zander, we shared a dance once." (And just like that, his face was no longer nameless to her.) He lowered his tone to a whisper. "You were having a pretty bad night. I wouldn't wanna hold onto that either." He seemed like a completely different person compared to the one she'd met on the night she and Rory broke up. She didn't know what to make of that, or what he said next. "Save me another one, okay?"

She meant to respond with a simple scoff, but what came out was: "Sure."

He smiled almost thankfully, and looked around the room. He recognized Grandma, Lydia, and Victoria, but he couldn't tell where from. He brushed it off and went back to his DJing gig, knowing the question would come back to nag at him later.

* * *

><p>When Zander got tired of spinning records, he brought out his own MP3 player and put on a playlist called <em>Ambiance<em>. Which gave the twins a cheap laugh. This music served as the background sound for Benny's magic act, and was appropriately mysterious.

Though the music upped the hype, the show didn't quite live up to it. Benny seemed to know every coin trick in the book, though he didn't know how to execute them all properly. Half the tricks fell flat, but the crowd was still entertained. He won the audience over with his natural charm instead.

When the show was closing, he decided to try one card trick, with Ethan as his volunteer.

"Was _this _your card?" He asked overconfidently, holding up a random one.

"No, but I like your enthusiasm." That got a laugh out of the crowd, too.

"'Course not." He said, accepting his failure. "We'll leave the card tricks to you." On that note, Ethan decided to start holding his readings soon. "And for my final trick, a classic. I'll pull a rabbit out of a hat." Benny took his tophat off, and pulled the rabbit Jane had lent him from behind his back. "This one." He clarified, receiving odd glances from the audience. He put the stuffed rabbit into the hat, after showing that both objects were completely ordinary. Then he pulled the rabbit out again, slowly and carefully. Only this time, it was live. Benny bowed, hearing the crowd cheer, and went to hand Jane back her rabbit.

"You cheated." Ethan accused in a sharp whisper.

Benny shrugged. "Technically, it's still magic. Even if it is real."

"Yeah, but then it's not a magic _trick._"

"It's a _lie_." Rory agreed a goofy tone. Both his friends gave him a look.

"Fine." Benny said, looking back at Ethan. "Let's see you do better." He challenged.

"You're on." Ethan told him. Though he had a feeling he'd be worse at reading tarot cards than Benny was at doing magic tricks.

* * *

><p>Contrary to his expectations, plenty of people showed up to the table Ethan had set up with his crystal ball hat in the center.<p>

They wanted to hear what he had to say. Some people-even complete strangers-had full conversations with him, asking about their futures or the core of their personalities. Ethan was glad to be keeping people entertained, even if winning the bet would probably get him nothing. He just hoped nobody was taking him too seriously. He didn't want to be responsible for telling them what they were about and where they were going in life.

One of the last people to ask him for a reading was Reegan. This surprised him, not only because she was the type of person to never leave the dancefloor, but also since she was angry with him for not wishing her a happy birthday yet. Somehow, he'd forgotten to do that.

"Alright, tell me who I am." She said nonchalantly, folding her arms as she gave her a weird look.

"_I _need to do that?" Didn't Reegan decide that herself?

"You do if you wanna entertain me." With a sigh, he shuffled the deck and pulled out a single card. The same method he'd been using since he started. He drew the Three of Swords, face up. Reegan silently winced at the picture of swords piercing through a heart. "That's pleasant." She said to him sarcastically. He couldn't blame her attitude, based on what he remembered of the card's meaning.

_Sorrow and extreme pain._

That wasn't a pretty picture, and he didn't want to be the one to paint it for her. He suddenly thought to wish her a happy birthday, but changing the subject didn't do him any good.

"Is that supposed to distract me? Tell me what it means." She ordered, pointing to the card. He held his tongue. "I'm the birthday girl!" She said, getting fed up.

"You won't like what you hear." He warned.

"That doesn't mean I can't take it." She argued. With that, Ethan let her in on what he knew. He watched her face drop, but a smile quickly resurfaced. "Well, if I wasn't such a party girl, that might put me in a bad mood." He silently sighed with relief as she thanked him. But she didn't just do so verbally. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He furrowed his brow in reaction.

"What was that for?"

In answer, Reegan spoke in the sweetest tone he'd ever heard her use. "Don't give up hope. I'm not going to, even after _that_."

As she walked off, leaving Ethan all smiles without really knowing the reason, Rae sat down. She didn't ask any questions-though her eyes were filled with curiosity over what had just taken place-she just sat there patiently, and waited for Ethan to draw a card. It was upright. The Three of Wands.

"What is it with you guys and threes?" He thought aloud, spawning a giggle from her.

"Lemme see if I remember this. Something about dreams turning into reality, right?"

"Sure, take over my job." He joked.

"Sorry, I love this kinda stuff." That made Ethan wonder if one of the reasons she liked him so much was because he was a seer. "So, does that mean dreams like goals or dreams like the ones you have when you sleep?"

She stumped him. "I don't know; good question. What do you think?"

She wasn't sure how to answer right away. "Hmm... I'd kinda like it better if it was the second one. Though that's kinda cheesy."

Ethan shrugged that off. "The card itself is kinda cheesy."

"Sometimes I like cheesy things." Rae told him. It was the second time in about a week she'd mentioned that.

With a smile that made Ethan seem renewed, he said: "Good, then you should love my present."

Rae looked puzzled. "You got me cheese? Is that some kinda Wisconsin wisecrack?"

Ethan laughed lightly, nodding in the direction of the door, and simply answered: "Happy birthday, Rae."

She stared at him for a second, still confused, then turned around. And if her eyes were sore, the sight in front of them took the pain away. Along with the weight on her heart. It seemed like the floor under her feet fell away, but she couldn't care. She moved so fast, she might as well have been flying across the room into the wide open arms of her boyfriend. They met in the middle.

This exchange didn't not go unnoticed by Sarah. Wearing an astonished smile, she hugged Ethan from behind and whispered to him: "_You _are amazing." with absolute pride.

* * *

><p>Walter made the pile of presents Rae had received look like chopped liver. He became an instant celebrity. He looked like one, too, even dressed as a construction worker. (He got the idea for that because he figured the reflective vest would make him stand out. He'd wanted Rae to see him right away.) With gentle dark brown eyes and short curly hair, hidden under his hardhat. In appearance, he was the opposite of Rae. With dark skin and towering height. They wore matching goofy smiles, though.<p>

Almost everyone's attention was directed at him at one point or another. Work friends of Rae's said they'd heard so much about him. He brought new life to the party, and many of the guests who'd gotten bored were suddenly on the dancefloor again, since he could teach them a thing or two, and was good at mimicking other people's moves. Though that was only a hobby of his. Ethan wanted to go talk to him-and find out just what it was that made Rae say they were alike-but he still had one person's cards to read.

Benny asked for some closure with Ryellie.

Ethan wondered how that could be in the cards, among other things. "Closure?" He echoed. "You make it sound like you've broken up."

"We have."

"Not really. You see each other every day." Inside, Ethan knew that's not what made it seem like they were still together. It was more about how neither of them looked at anyone else.

Benny sent his best friend an odd glance. "Following that logic, if Sarah told you that she didn't wanna be your girlfriend anymore but still hung out with us all the time, you'd tell people you two were still together? Because that sounds crazy." He said this as more of a casual observation than ridicule.

"Don't scare me." Ethan said, making Benny chuckle. Then he got on with business. "Okay, so I'll deal one card?" He wanted to get this over with quickly.

But Benny didn't know that. "Nah, how 'bout three?"

Ethan complied, shuffling and dealing three cards face up. First was the fool, which made them both frown. Next was Temperance. They didn't know what to think of that. Lastly, was The Magician.

"That's kinda creepy." Benny commented. Then confusion crept into his voice. "What does it mean?"

Wide-eyed, Ethan held his hands out for a second, silently saying that he had no clue.

"Oh, c'mon, you're the seer here!" Benny made no point to whisper, under the circumstances.

"Yeah, well, you messed with my method." Ethan took another look at the cards. "Maybe it's literal." He theorized.

"You're sayin' I'm a temperate fool?" Benny asked, definitely not happy about that.

Ethan didn't let that stop him from stating his opinion. After all, Benny had asked for it. "Ryellie's the temperate one."

"So you mean we're both idiots?" That sounded worse.

"No," Ethan said, an edge to his voice. _Why doesn't he see the point_? "Maybe... you're both fools." He didn't worry about sounding cheesy-thanks to the twins-and continued. "For love. But in a good way. Like, you won't give up on each other."

Somehow, that didn't satisfy Benny. His tone had no trace of anger in it. Just disappointment. "Can you shuffle again?"

Ethan did, without a word of argument. The same three cards turned up. He frowned at his failure to shuffle, and tried again. Only to draw the same three cards, in the same order. He swallowed the fear he felt and tried a third time. Same deal. With a grunt of annoyance, he tried a fourth time, and got the same result. A fifth time, he didn't even get through shuffling. The same three cards fell out of the deck before he had the chance.

"This is starting to scare me."

"You mean how bad you are at shuffling?" Benny asked. "Same here."

"It's _not _me." Ethan stressed, eyes widened and teeth gritted.

"What do you mean it's not you?" Benny asked, reaching for the deck to see if he can do a better job at shuffling. What he ended up doing was set himself up to play a game of 78 pick up. The cards spilled all over the table and floor. Three landed in Benny's tophat, which was also on the table. Against his better judgement, he looked in it, to find The Fool, Temperance and the Magician. All the other cards were face down.

Benny stood up and-to Ethan's shock-put on a smile. "Okay, so Ryellie and I are fools for love and we won't give up on each other!"

Ethan threw his head back laughing, until he realized Benny had flipped his hat over and left the remaining three cards on the table, headed off the dancefloor. "Hey, get back here and help me pick these up!"

Benny seemed to be in another world entirely, as he met up with Ryellie for a slow dance. (Zader had put on the longest, most romantic slow song he could find, right as Benny reached her.) Even though the place was full of people, including her disapproving parents, she gladly accepted. In response, he gave her a look that she could swear meant 'I love you'.

Grace was the first to notice, and turned her husband's attention to them, while they shared a dance of their own. Noah expected her to be mad, but instead she laughed. "They don't even have rhythm together."

"Yeah." He agreed, smiling. "And yet, somehow it works. They just click."

Grace was visibly hurt by this. She sighed. "Rules are rules."

Noah nodded, seeing that she didn't want to discuss it anymore. They held each other tighter.

Lucas and Charlotte danced in a way comparable to Benny and Ryellie, except that threw in jumps and twists every once in awhile.

Not far behind, Ross and Samantha were dancing together. Or trying to. It was difficult when her shoe came off and nearly caught him in the eye. They looked at each other after sharing a startled gasp, confused as how that even came close to happening. "We don't want another trip to the hospital, Sam." He said, getting a happy laugh in reply.

"You look good with an eyepatch."

"Ugh, guys." It was then they realized Jane was practically right next to them, rabbit in arms. They figured she had to be joking, considering things she'd said before. They felt bad there were no other younger kids at the party, but Reegan quickly remedied that. She brought her over to where the grandparents-the young at heart-were. They seemed to be ignoring the tempo of the song and making up their own dances moves. It was quite a sight.

Erica wondered when Zander would come to get his dance-not that she was excited about it-since the party was nearing its end. Rory found her first, but he was more concerned with what he had in his hand."_More _cake?" She asked, baffled and a bit annoyed.

"Actually," He said after swallowing a mouthful, "this is my first piece."

She gave him a look. "Well, what was keeping you away from it?"

"I was _tearing it up_on the dancefloor!"

She chuckled. "Should've guessed."

Rory elbowed her playfully, gesturing to his slice of cake with his fork. "Wanna share?"

Erica caught his glance, realizing he was talking about a random memory. One she didn't expect him to have. She couldn't help laughing. "Cheap." She teased.

"But lovable." He piped up.

She was about to respond, right when Ethan bumped into her. He was trying to multitask, and count the cards he'd just finished picking up while searching for Sarah.

Erica gave a low growl. "Watch yourself."

"Sorry." He told her. Then he paused, thinking of something else to say. "Thanks."She looked suddenly lost, as did Rory.

"For what?" Erica asked.

He listed his reasons, with fluctuating emotion. "Helping with the party, coming up with the idea for the best cake I've ever tasted, actually attending the party..." Rory bit back a laugh to try to keep from choking on the cake he just finished.

"finding a rebellious streak," Ethan went on, quoting Sarah and making Erica look at him funny. "not showing up to babysit." Erica almost smiled, finally understanding what he was talking about. "When I think about it, you changed my whole life."

Ethan didn't think Erica would search for something deep to say. And he was right. "You're welcome, dork."

On his way to Sarah, Ethan passed Walter and Rae. They were holding each other as if they couldn't stand up on their own. The boys nodded a grateful greeting to each other.

When Ethan held out his hand for Sarah to take, she asked him, asking: "Is this in the cards?" It was an appropriate question, since she was one of the only party-goers who hadn't asked for a reading.

He shrugged. "I don't know; want me to check?"

She shook her head, taking his hand. "I like not knowing what's coming next." For their first dance together, the couple was in perfect sync.

By this point, Zander came to ask for his dance. Watching Erica walk off with him, Rory quickly noticed he was the only one without somebody to dance with. He tried not to let that get to him. And honestly? He barely had the time. Next think he knew, Zander changed the game. He yelled "Switch!" and everyone scattered to find new partners. (Not wanting to disrespect the DJ.)

It was hard for some to break apart. Some of the new dance pairs were obvious choices (Ryellie finally got to dance with her cousins). Others were unexpected-and hilarious combos.

In all the craziness, Zander handed Erica off to Rory with ease, and sent the vampire ninja a knowing wink as he triumphantly headed back to his post...

**Thanks for reading, PLEASE REVIEW! Favorite part? ****Anything ****to elaborate on? Ideas? I'll update ASAP! =]**


	13. Every Afterparty Ends Eventually

**It's like I'm undead, isn't it? This is LONG overdue. I hope you enjoy. Feel free to give your ideas and ask me any questions. I love your feedback, and I REALLY miss having it for this story. Sorry for the super long wait, my lovely readers. **

**This chapter is dedicated to tisha b.**

**I do not own My Babysitter's a Vampire.**

"Imagine Ry at this age?" Noah said as he helped the rest of the adults clean up after the party. (The children had set up, so they wanted to give them a break.)

"I'm not so sure that I want to." Grace replied. That would mean a big change in their lives. Not exactly Empty Nest Syndrome, since Grace and Noah's families were known for their longevity, but something that would leave them feeling less like themselves.

Simon didn't want thoughts like that weighing his family down. Especially so soon after a celebration. He wanted to keep the positive energy around for as long as possible. "Ryellie's shy, and she's still having trouble adjusting," Everyone had noticed her changes in mood. "but she's one of us. She can handle this."

Victoria gave her opinion then. "Do you mean she'll be willing to handle this or that the counsel says she has to be?" She wasn't trying to be judgemental, just trying to figure it all out.

For a moment, the group exchanged glances. They already knew the answer.

Lydia spoke next. "After this move, we were all hoping there wouldn't be any more big changes. She made connections, that's a good thing, but…"

When she trailed off, Lucas took that as his cue to talk. He tried to speak her thoughts. Even though they disheartened everyone in the room. "If this is going to work, Ryellie needs to know." He turned to his sister in that moment. "You saw the way they look at each other."

Grace nodded solemnly.

"Look at it this way," Miles began after a pause. He was trying to find the upside to their current situation. Though he could already feel his beacon of hope burning out. "When she found out what you are, it only took days for her to forgive you. The sooner we tell her, the longer we have for it to blow over."

He figured she would need a few years to get over it.

* * *

><p>Walter traced the star-shaped cutouts on Ethan's bedroom door. The two were standing outside of it, on either side, talking.<p>

"Thanks again for inviting me."

Ethan shrugged in reply. "I had a feeling you were trying to get here anyway."

"Yeah," The older boy agreed. "I don't know why it took me so long." He did know, actually. He just didn't want to admit he couldn't take on a single shapeshifter. Grayson left him-and the small town he lived in-in pretty bad shape. Though not even Ethan would know that to look at him.

The younger boy brushed that off. He'd made it. That was the most important part. "Do you like anything besides the party so far?"

Walter hadn't seen much else. He could hear his girlfriend, her sister and their friends talking in the living room. He knew Ryellie was in on the conversation as well, she just spoke in a softer tone. Every once in awhile, someone would laugh. "The afterparty." He answered. Then, seriously, he said: "It's pretty quiet here."

"I think that's because we caught a break." Ethan told him. "It's normally non-stop craziness." He said this so calmly, because that was the norm for him.

"That must be exciting." Walter thought aloud.

"And scary." Ethan added earnestly.

Downstairs, Erica made the futile effort of looking for blood in the Morgan's fridge. No matter how vividly she imagined it, it didn't show up.

Benny seemed to know what she was looking for and tossed her a vial as he walked in.

She caught it without even looking-the way Rory had done with Benny's other spellbook-and asked: "Whose is this?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Since when have you cared?"

"I've always cared. It's like when you go to a restaurant and they let you pick your own lobster."

He didn't really understand the analogy. "That's never happened to me. Not that I could afford lobster. Or would even want it." He said the last part after a scoff.

"I bet Ryellie can afford lobster." Erica answered under her breath. Not that that mattered. Benny picked up on it.

His automatic reaction was to get defensive. Then he thought about that further, and laughed. "Not without a job." She gave him an odd look in response. "Ya know," His tone quieted. "I thought of something that might make you stop being mad at her for being what she is." She wanted to know where he got that idea, but waited for him to elaborate on his own. "She carries the shapeshifter gene." His eyebrows scrunched together. "At least I think that's how it works. So… when the venom hit, it changed things."

"She's the shape-shifted version of a vampire," Erica said. "that's your theory?"

"Sorta makes sense, doesn't it?"

"Doesn't make a difference." Erica countered flatly. She crossed her arms. The look in her eyes was less like anger and more like envy. "She…" Erica trailed off. She never expected to finish her thought, even if Benny probed for it. He didn't, but she continued anyway. In an icy whisper. "She can see herself."

Benny nodded. "The way she always has." He was talking about how her vision hadn't improved, because everyone was looking at things in a new light lately.

"You think her weaknesses… matter?" Erica asked, downing the contents of the vial before she spoke the last word of her question. The action made what she said have more of an impact.

Despite this, he simply shrugged. That was all relative. "She's a _mortal_ vampire. You ever heard of that?"

That was a heavy subject. One Erica didn't want to tackle. And she said so. "I don't wanna get into that conversation." So she walked out of it. She turned around when she got to the doorway, remembering something. "Thanks." She said, tossing the empty vial back to Benny.

* * *

><p>"Didn't you just go shopping the other day?"<p>

"Yeah," Ryellie confirmed as she and Erica rounded a corner on the way to the store where the twins worked. "but I was thinking about how you put off shopping to help with party planning."

Erica began to wonder if the younger girl had found a rebellious streak of her own, blowing off homework on a Monday afternoon to go shopping. "So this is payback?"

"The good kind of payback."

"I'll get that." Erica said, reaching for the door before Ryellie got the chance. This gesture earned her an odd look. "What? You're probably too weak to open it anyway." She reasoned.

With an eyebrow raise and a light laugh, the younger girl walked through the door. "Covering your tracks?"

Erica didn't understand the question. "What does that mean?"

"You wouldn't wanna get caught being nice, would you?"

The only answer given was a scoff. Until Erica thought of something. "Why'd you wanna do this, anyway? Did you think I wanted your company?"

"You might," Ryellie reasoned. Her words rolled into mumbles when she finished her sentence. "but I'm here for a job." She said that like she had already been hired, hoping that confidence would increase her chances.

"Huh, nice." There was relief in Zander's voice. He stood behind the counter, holding the twins' place.

The girls looked each other, wondering how he had such good hearing. He reached his hand out over the counter, to pass Ryellie an application. She didn't hesitate to take it. Her reasoning wasn't just about how much she wanted a job. (Or, rather, a distraction.) As she'd told Benny, she trusted Zander. Though she still didn't know why.

"Your cousins told me that you make all your dresses. Is that what you wanna do for us?" Zander asked. Erica had begun to make her way around the store, but she kept her eye on the two others.

Ryellie nodded. "But it doesn't just have to be dresses."

"Cool. Are you gonna be here to tell customers about your stuff, or are you looking for a more of a behind-the-scenes kinda job?" There was something odd about the way he phrased that, but she couldn't place what.

There wasn't much confidence left in her tone by that point. That's why she was pushing herself to do this. She lived in a town where the action swept her up whether she wanted it to or not. She hadn't jumped at the call when she found out the truth about the people she loved, but this was the start of her catching up. "I could stay here."

"Our boss'll be happy about that." He said, trying to picture the scene. Ryellie, surrounded by loyal customers, first-time visitors and everything in between. Talking to each one of them. He could tell it was going to be a challenge, so he offered some reassurance. "And our regulars are pretty nice. They won't make things tough for ya." He was trying his best to alleviate the pressure, but it was tough to focus on his words when he was facing toward the door. Wondering where Reegan and Rae were.

"We were supposed to be at work fifteen minutes ago!" The older twin exclaimed. She was rushing around a practically empty house, gathering everything she needed for work.

Rae had everything she needed. A pleasant surprise was keeping her away from her usual routine. And he realized it.

"You should get going." Walter urged, as Reegan raced past him on her way out the door.

"Alright." Rae said in a sigh.

He smiled, and the two leaned in for a goodbye kiss. Which was cut short when the front door opened again. "I almost left without you." Reegan informed. Ironically, she was laughing at her own mistake.

Rae laughed back and followed her sister out the door.

Walter wondered what to do with himself, being the only one left in the house.

He ended up channel surfing for an hour or so. Though this was normally something done out of boredom, he found it entertaining since he was in a different country.

Soon enough, the door leading to the garage opened up and the adults filed in. Looking up, he got the impression that they all had just returned from the dry cleaners. Each had at least one garment bag draped over their shoulder. The bags weren't clear, and he wondered what was in them.

The adults were so wrapped up in the conversation they were having, the didn't notice Walter sitting right there. He'd turned off the TV, trying to be respectful. He forgot about that as he grew suspicious of what they were saying.

"I don't see why we have to do any planning for this." Miles complained. "It should all be up to them."

"They aren't family." Grace reasoned. "They can't make it comfortable."

Such a big house echoed, so they could be heard even as they went to put the clothes away. Miles scoffed. "When has this ever been comfortable?"

"Sometimes it turns out that way." Simon insisted, in a distant-sounding voice.

"Ryellie's gonna hate it." He argued. In that moment, his hope had run out. "Ryellie's gonna hate us."

"Dad, stop it." Noah pleaded. He sounded tired rather than sad. "Nobody likes this at first, but we wouldn't have the life we do if-"

"I don't wanna talk about this anymore." Charlotte interrupted. This made Walter tense up because the others silently agreed. Which meant he didn't have much to go on. He wasn't sure why, but instinct had him headed toward Ethan's house.

* * *

><p>"Maybe I was only led here because it's the last place I left." Walter admitted. He and Ethan were the only two in the living room. If it wasn't for work and school, he'd wonder if the rest of Ethan's family was in on whatever was going on. "I just went with my gut. Stupid, right?"<p>

"No." Ethan answered, as he shook his head to reinforce how he felt. "So, what happened?"

"They walked right past me." Even that detail was telling. It meant the adults were too focused on whatever they had to do, they didn't realize they had an audience. This worked to the kids' advantage. "I don't know much, but they're keeping secrets from Ryellie again."

"Again?" Ethan echoed questioningly. Walter was in on the shapeshifter secret long before she was. The second the younger boy spoke, he realized this had to be the case. How could Rae keep something like that from someone she was dating? Then again, she kept it from someone she was related to. At this point, he could only hope Walter knew. It would make the conversation so much easier.

"The shapeshifting?" Walter clarified. "I know about it. I know about you, too." Another surprise that simplified things. Ethan didn't have to waste time explaining that.

Still, he had to ask. "When'd they tell you?"

Walter countered the assumption with a shake of his head. "At the party. I overheard."

"Benny." Ethan mumbled, almost like he was sitting in the room.

"It's okay I… I don't think anybody else would make the connection." The older boy assured. It was an odd way of saying he could be trusted. As far as Ethan was concerned, that went without saying. "I know it's not completely up to you, but I was hoping for… some insight?"

For the first time since the two sat down to talk, Ethan was smiling. "Was that a seer pun?" Ethan asked with a raise of his eyebrows.

In affirmation, Walter asked: "Rae told you I'm a dork, right?" This made them chuckle, but they remembered to stay on topic. "All I know is, whatever this is… involves fancy clothes."

Ethan's eyes moved to his own hands before he fixed his focus back on Walter. He remembered how well refraining from talking about a vision had worked out last time, so he asked: "Like a dinner?"

There was a pause before Walter said what Ethan was thinking. "It can't be that harmless."

He nodded. "Not from what I saw."

"What else was there?"

Not much, apart from what Walter said. "The girls looked terrified."

It was the only other detail he had, but it was disillusioning. "They sprung this on the twins, too?"

"They will." Ethan answered. As far as he knew, it was unavoidable.

Walter couldn't stand that. He couldn't let himself stand for it, either. "Unless we uncover something."

Suddenly the quiet conversation turned into an argument. "What if we're out of time? What if the dinner's tonight?"

"Can't be tonight." Walter dismissed. "I would be at the table."

It was a good theory. But there was a hole in it. "Unless you're the one who answers the door."

"Maybe nobody has to answer the door. The adults are anticipating this." Walter reminded Ethan. "We're just lucky they don't know _we_ are."

"Why not just confront them?" That seemed easier than the roundabout way of getting answers that they didn't even have a plan for. "They're still at the house, right?"

Walter answered this question with a question. "Do your parents know about you?"

He had a feeling he knew where this was going. So, instead of a simple, no, Ethan answered: "They don't know about me, or Benny, or Sarah…" The next part of his sentence was said under a sigh. "Rory, Erica, Ryellie-" He was about to add Grandma to this list that already seemed pretty long. Walter stopped him before he could.

"What's there to know about Ryellie?"

Ethan figured Rae and Walter had been so busy catching up with each other that they didn't get the chance to talk about anyone else. He hated to be the bearer of this news, no matter how the older boy would take it. "Ryellie's sort of a vampire now."

"How can anybody be _sort of_ a vampire?" Walter sounded frustrated rather than confused, and he blamed that on the anger he felt toward the adults. He hoped Ethan sensed that. The younger boy had flinched when Walter's voice rose.

"Her abilities." Ethan explained. The example he gave summed up that whole situation pretty well. "She's no good at flitting, but she can fly."

Walter nodded. "And you wouldn't tell your parents because you think you're protecting them? Protecting your friends? Protecting yourself?"

Ethan wasn't sure of the reason. He supposed all three made sense. What he said was: "That's just how it is." Then he saw the other boy's logic, before it was put into words.

"All we'd get is another cover story."

Ethan got quiet for a moment. Then he asked: "How long until you leave?"

"Two days."

At this point, the younger boy took his phone from his pocket. Ready to call for backup, then head over to Benny's for a better vantage point. "Let's pretend we don't have two days."

* * *

><p>When Sarah walked in to the store where Reegan and Rae were making their apologies to Zander, Erica instinctually looked behind her.<p>

In response, Sarah looked over her own shoulder, to see whatever had caught Erica's attention. There was nothing there. That was the point, but she failed to see it. "What?"

"Where's your boyfriend?" Erica asked with crossed arms.

"He's at home, last time I checked."

"When was the last time you checked?"

"When I dropped him off there after school today." Sarah replied.

Erica chuckled, but she found what she said next sad instead of funny. "I'm surprised you can still stand without him next to you."

Sarah's eyebrows lowered, and she swallowed an annoyed sigh. "I came here to hang out with you, but if you don't want me around then-"

"Wait," Erica cut in. Her apology was in her eyes when she said: "it's just weird seeing you without him. Good," She made sure to emphasize. "but weird. That's all."

"It used to be weird seeing me with him," Sarah reasoned. "I think it's time we accept that _everything_ about our lives is weird."

"You're telling me." Reegan cut in, taking no attention away from the small smile that formed on Erica's face in that moment. "Ryellie took my side with this whole job thing."

Sarah looked at Ryellie with pride, but said nothing. Probably because it wouldn't be heard over Rae's groaning.

"I just wanna say that this wasn't a bet, so I don't owe you anything."

"I know you don't." Reegan answered. A little too guiltily to go unnoticed.

* * *

><p>"We're not even gonna tell the girls?" Rory asked. He was easily confused, but he he understood this. It just didn't seem right to him.<p>

"It'd probably just make things worse." Benny said, his eyes set on the house behind his. He was watching the lights. When they all went out, that would mean the adults had left again. That would mean the boys had their chance.

"Ryellie's... fragile." Ethan reasoned.

"That's why we shouldn't lie!" Rory argued. It was strange hearing him get loud when it wasn't out of excitement.

Instead of countering that, Ethan made it about crowd control. "We have one person for each floor of the house. That's enough."

Rory looked to Walter for his opinion.

"Ethan's basically your leader, right? You should listen to him."

"This is the best way to go about it." Benny added.

"We don't even _know_ what we're going about." Rory pointed out. His focus was completely on Benny then. "I get it. You wanna be the hero. Hiding stuff from her isn't gonna get you there. It's not gonna make her happy. You can't… shut her out." The other boys were slightly stunned by the words, but the speaker felt like he had found a balance. Finally.

Before anyone could answer-whether to argue more or agree-Rory took his phone from his pocket and dialed Erica. And this time, that had nothing to do with her. It was done simply because his contacts were listed in alphabetical order.

The call went straight to voicemail.

Minutes prior, the girls stuck a deal. They would spend the rest of the day together, as well as the next afternoon. And they would do this without any interruptions. Sarah was the first to turn off her phone, as a way to say that she was still indeed a separate entity from Ethan, no matter how close they'd grown.

The twins followed suit, as a way to show support. Erica was last to do the same, although it had been her idea. Her thumb glided over to the power button. Had she gone to press it a moment later, her phone's screen would have lit up. Displaying one of the last pictures of Rory Keaner in existence.

But speed was on her side, not his.

He didn't bother to say his reason for calling. He didn't bother to say anything. He just hung up, sending the other boys a look of defeat while hoping they would reach some sort of victory...

**THANKS FOR READING**, **please review! Let me know if there are any spelling/grammar/phrasing mistakes. This is at the back of the rotation now, but I'll update ASAP! Just lemme know what you wanna see next. =]**


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